Slowly Getting There
by Rola G
Summary: After getting caught in the genjutsu and being helped, Naruto starts to ask for help in breaking free of them, although who would have thought that breaking free would turn into a routine. One thing for sure, being dense was something he wished for once to not have been misplaced. Naruto/Hinata
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone this is my first time making a fan fiction, and Naruto is my absolute favorite.

I will accept any criticism since I've never been the greatest when it came to paragraph writing.

hope you enjoy.

Don't own Naruto.

* * *

Prologue

It was dark and quiet, no vision at all. With no visual the other senses needed to be active. Unfortunately even those were not working properly as well.

"Dammit" Naruto just couldn't figure out how he winded up in the genjutsu. One minute he was chasing after his target and the next everything just went black.

"I really wish I knew how to break free of this!" It really was frustrating that even though he's improved since the time he started his genin career, no matter what genjutsu was one thing he couldn't do about.

"So now what? How can I break free of this, feels like it's been hours." He closed his eyes and tried to get an idea forming in his head, but nothing seemed to come to mind.

"Arrg!" Pulling his hair in the process. It was supposed to be an easy chase after finding their location, and now he was stuck until either help comes or he figures out how to undo the genjutsu.

"Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun"

"Huh"?

"Naruto-kun"

Someone was calling him and it was getting louder

"Who is it?" Naruto yelled hoping to reach the voice

"Open your eyes Naruto-kun"

Suddenly it was just easy to open them. He had to shield his eyes from the light, but when he came to he saw the face with the voice that was calling him.

"Hinata?" surprise placed on his face.

"…." Hinata just realized how close their faces were and was trying very hard not to faint, although her face resembled the color of a tomato now.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah thank you I owe you one" he always held her in high regard since she always tried so hard to change and seems to be the only one who never put him down or his dream. But seeing her up real close made him think of something he's only ever really thought of when he saw Sakura-chan.

'She's actually really cute now I get a closer look'. Wait. Where did that thought pop up?

In any case he had to refocus back to the mission at hand.

"What happened? What about the mission?"

"I mission was completed and where now just bringing him with us" Neji came along with Shikamaru and Kiba.

"Oh? Hehe I guess I just couldn't follow since being caught in his genjutsu" putting his head and scratching, seemingly embarrassed.

"You weren't in it for too long and if you hadn't injured him like you did this would have gone much longer chase, let's just get back and report to call it a day" stated Neji

"Hai"

Along the way Hinata just kept watching him while traveling back.

'I hope you'll someday notice me Naruto-kun'

What she didn't realize was how he already has.

He just hasn't realized it himself yet.

* * *

So how was it, based on how the reviews turn up for this week, will result in me making the next chapter or not.

I do love the pairing of Naruto and Hinata, but to much lovey dovey isn't so my thing so i'm going to make it slow the way it should instead of just jumping into it.

Yes they're will be other character pairing but only as a side thing, nothing too involved


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone

I'm glad for the review and criticism, helps me figure out what else to work on.

also the traffic is not too bad since it's my first time and 3 followers as well a decent start

here the next chapter as promised

* * *

Chapter 1

"Narutoo"!

Hi everyone, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. What I like is ramen, what I don't like is the 3 minutes it takes to wait for ramen to boil, I also enjoy comparing different kinds of ramen together, and my dream is to become Hokage so the whole village will acknowledge me. Hobbies use to be pranks, I only ever prank Iruka sensei and sometimes Kakashi sensei, but he's boring since he usually allows them to happen and then shows no reaction.

"Try to catch me sensei" man it's been months since I got him. Being a ninja means you got to be serious. Which I am, but since we don't hang out often anymore I figured getting his attention the old fashion way would remind him of his favourite pupil.

"Gottcha"

"Huh?" I turn to look and he's suddenly in front of me.

"Hehe looks like you win sensei" I laugh nervously while scratching the back of my head

"And it looks like you have some cleaning to do in my back yard"

I groan, following with a "yes" and proceed with him to his house

* * *

"Naruto, why can't you just come up to me and ask if you want to eat at Ichirakus?" Iruka mumbled, before slurping his noodles

"But where's the fun in that sensei, besides it's been more than 7 months, I promise it's not that often" smiling before slurping my own noodles.

Iruka sighs, and then puts on a smile "I suppose I should be worried if you completely change, so how did the mission go"?

I excitedly start telling him of the mission, of how me, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Hinata went chasing after a missing-nin, but start to mellow out after explaining how bad I got stuck in that genjutsu.

"It's not fun getting caught, especially when if it weren't for my team I would have either been kidnapped or dead. Do you know any way I can learn genjutsu so something like this doesn't happen"?

"Well I would say it's best to talk to your Jonin sensei. He would have a better idea on how to help you since you work under him"

"But he's out of the village right now" I pouted

"In that case you're just going to have to wait "was his simple response

"Arg, another bowl please old man" I yelled out. Who knows when Kakashi sensei would come back, maybe I should ask Sakura-Chan she seems to be good at it.

* * *

Walking away from the Huyga district was both Neji and Hinata, on their way to the training grounds. Usually the two of them would just train in the training grounds in the mansion, but the elders were giving both of them looks which were distracting.

"Do you know why they've been staring at us Neji-ni-san"? She asked timidly

"I honestly can't say Hinata-sama" was his reply as his eyes narrowed in confusion. Ever since the Chunin exams, he has let go of fate and destiny, and gradually begun to repair his bond with his cousin. During that time his uncle has also started to become more willing to fix the tension between the two houses. On top of that he gave him personal training.

While some results were showing, the elders were starting to grow in suspicion towards the two, and while he may have some ideas, all of them seem unlikely since his uncle was the head and his word was absolute.

"Perhaps it's really nothing and they are just observing"

"Perhaps, but it is quite frustrating when your being watched like that during training, let us proceed to the training grounds. Hopefully there will be a bit more privacy for us"

"Hai"

* * *

"Aww man when will Ero-senin come back, perhaps he can teach me some genjutsu" Sakura-Chan apparently went with team ten with Asuma-sensei for a mission, since Shikamaru was already a chunin.

"This sucks, and there's no missions either for me for now" feeling irritated, I somehow find myself in training ground 8, and start punching the dummies to release some steam.

"Naruto-kun"?

"Gahh" I jumped, so absorbed that I didn't realise two people had approached. It was Neji and Hinata.

"Gomen, I d-didn't mean to s-startle you" she said while poking her two fingers together.

Neji just watched with an amused expression on his face, "were we interrupting anything, seems you were quite angry with that dummy". I turned to properly look at my punching bag. I can't believe I didn't notice that it was almost destroyed. Turning red from embarrassment I yelled "shut up" and continued to proceed.

"Naruto-kun you're bleeding"

"Huh"? I looked at myself and saw my hands were bruised and red, every punch I did seemed to make droplets fall.

"It seems there's something on your mind if you didn't realize your injuries" Neji confirmed.

Hinata took out some of her healing ointment, along with bandages, and proceeded to work on his hands.

"N-Naruto-kun, does it hurt"?

"No this is isn't a-urg"

"…." Neji just kept on looking with a smirk on his face.

"I couldn't help it I was irritated and wanted to let out some steam" I glared back at him.

"Oh"?

"Getting caught in that genjutsu on our last mission made me realize I could have died, and when I asked Iruka sensei for help he just told me to ask Kakashi sensei, but he's on a mission so I went looking for Sakura-chan since she seems to know of these things, but turned out she too is on a mission, and I don't know when Ero-senin will be back in order to go for our training trip so I got annoyed and started beating the dummies up" huffing and puffing after stating my outrage.

"Feeling better now"?

"A little" I turned my head to cover my embarrassment.

"N-Naruto-kun, i-if you want I-I can ask Kurenai if s-she could help you out, just be more careful"?

I turned my head and just stared for a moment, then jumped up cheering

"Really Hinata? Thanks you're the best; I'll go home clean up and grab some lunch. Let me know what she says eh"? Hinata just fell on the ground. It seemed sometime during the rant, Hinata fainted.

"Neji"? I asked.

"Please don't worry about it, she'll come around soon, and when she does she and I wish to continue our training, so if you please".

"Oh sure thing, catch you later" with that I dashed away

Neji just looked from where Naruto ran, to where Hinata was lying on the ground, a smile on her face.

"You really do make things interesting Naruto Uzumaki"

* * *

And done.

I got a review that the prologue was a tad to short, so I tried to see if I could aim for atleast 1000 words.

An any care reviews and criticism is always helpful, still only know the middle of the story, starting it to reach that middle will be quite a challege.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone

sorry it took a little longer to do this chapter since I wasn't sure what topic to focus on in this piece.

It might seem a bit annoying to constant introductions to the characters, but i figured it wouldn't hurt.

anyways hope you enjoy and criticism is always helpful

don't own naruto, sadly.

* * *

Chapter 2

She was staring at the Intel. She was staring at it intensely. It was as the Intel was mocking her. "Dammit" yelled Tsunade, the 5th Hokage.

"Please calm down Tsunade-sama" her apprentice, Shizune, cautiously stated.

"Look at this, the rouge that Shikamaru's team found, it states here that he was on a mission for Orochimaru. And what's more is that there isn't much information other than that." Tsunade stated as she began to crumple the paper up. "Adding that whatever mission he was on was successful and now it's in Kumo region. Do you see my predicament now"? She threw the paper in the bin.

"Hai, but we don't have the man power at the moment to check this out"

Sighing, she asked one of the staff if they could get her some tea. It's been about two months since Sasuke defected to Orochimaru, and now there's a chance that Kumo might make an alliance if that was the rouges mission.

"I'll wait a bit to see if any more information shows up, then I'll decide on how to handle the situation, until then-"A knock was heard out of the door.

"Please forgive the interruption, team Asuma coming back from guarding duty". The whole team saluted.

"Ah yes please give in your reports, it will do me some good for distractions" she sighed

"Hai, well here let me explain"

* * *

Slowly she stirred, slowly she started to blink, and slowly she started to rise. Slapping her cheeks lightly, she began to take a look at her surroundings, while in the background she heard a lump and hit.

"I see you have finally awakened Hinata-sama" Neji stated as he continued to hit the dummy that Naruto _didn't _destroy during his frustrations.

"Huh" she turned her head.

"G-gomen, what happened" She lowered her head as she started to recall what happed earlier.

"You passed out near Naruto while he was thanking you." He responded "honestly, if you keep on fainting whenever he's near, you'll never get him to get to know you better and give him a different impression"

"I-it's gotten better, before I couldn't even state any sentences whenever he was talking to me, and I rarely ever faint in front of him anymore, it's just he was s-so c-close" Just thinking about it caused her to start blushing again.

"Well you were just out for a couple of minutes, so if you still want to, may we proceed towards training"?

"Hai"

The Huyga's are one of the many clans in the village. Their bloodline is in their eyes, which allow them to see 360 full circles, on top of the chakra within an opponent's body. You can train your muscles, but you can't train your organs, and that's what the Huyga's use in order to defeat there enemies; Gentle Fist. It not only blocks the chakra, but can damage the organ, thus chance of truly never recovering from such an injury.

They prepared there stances and began their training.

* * *

Staring at the village, sitting on the fourths head, Naruto couldn't help but admire the view as the sun set.

"The teme must be crazy to go to that snake when the beauty here cannot be compared" Naruto mused. He just couldn't understand how narrow minded his friend was. The village was making him weak? Yeah, Right! Naruto had equaled Sasuke in power and it was because of the village.

Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last remaining Uchiha's after his brother went crazy and slaughtered the rest of the clan, also the number one rookie of the year back at the academy, but, most importantly, my best friend. We always hated each other and was put on a team together which became team 7. Two months ago he abandoned the village to go to Orochimaru for power. I tried to stop him, and while I failed, I learned something very important on that day; one was there was a chance he can be saved since I delayed him from getting to Orochimaru before his body can be taken over, and two Sasuke not only stated I was his best friend, but also that he acknowledged me the most for my strength.

"He should have just asked for help, that's how I got stronger, all Sasuke did was brood and train on his own, only so much can get you so far on your own." He was thinking out loud, but since there was no one around he figured it would help get some of it off his chest.

Still he couldn't help that there was hope for his friend. Didn't Sasuke say that he would kill him to obtain greater power, just to leave him to live? He knew that the Sharingan would tell him if he was still alive, and yet he was left to live.

"I suppose to only know for sure what Sasukes thinking is to meet up with him again and have another face off. I'm certain words won't be affective with him this time"

"I suppose that is true" Came a voice from behind

"Gahhh" Naruto jumped

"Whoa easy now, I didn't mean to startle you Naruto"

"Kakashi-sensei, your back"

"Yup, I thought you'd be here if you weren't in either your home or at Ichirakus". The man now known as Kakashi stated.

Kakashi Hatake, also known as copy-cat ninja, is my Jonin sensei along with the rest of team 7. Although most people don't think I listen when a lesson is taking place, the lesson I learned from my sensei is something I'll always cherish: Those who break the rules are scum, but those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than scum.

"You were looking for me sensei"?

"Yes, just wanted to see how you were holding up, and since I kind of heard a bit of your talking, figured I'd lend an ear and help you get whatever is bugging you off your chest" Kakashi eye smiled.

Naruto contemplated on whether to share his thoughts or not, but decided to come forward with it. "Say, Kakashi-sensei, what are your thoughts on Sasuke? I mean if I were to meet up again, you think I can somehow convince him to return?"

Kakashi carefully sorted through his words before coming with an answer "As a shinobi of the hidden leaf, my answer would be Sasuke is now a criminal since he abandoned the village, but" Kakashi stated before Naruto can object to him" as a sensei and comrade to team 7, I would have to say if anyone can bring him back to the light, it would be you" finishing off with a smile.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, he honestly wasn't expecting that answer, then stated what he was confirming with himself earlier on "I think if Sasuke truly was hopeless than I wouldn't be alive right now, I had withhold from killing him so he knocked me out, but he could have before continuing on".

"Which means there's still hope for him" confirming his beliefs

"Hai"

"Well, I know it's a bit unfair, but as long as you hold on to that belief, then I'll let you to be the ending factor to redeeming Sasuke"

No more words were exchanged as they both continued to watch the sunset.

'Naruto', Kakashi thought to himself, 'your defiantly worthy of being called the most surprising ninja, and as such I have full confidence that you'll eventually bring Sasuke to the light', then he looked down to the head he was sitting on with a gentle smile behind his mask, 'isn't that right sensei".

* * *

And that's a rap

yeah I figured I would state where the story is based, and thats with Sasuke still leaving for power.

once I get the story really going, I'll probably get Sasuke involved into the story.

Now I know there's a lot of polls out there for a sasusaku, but I figured that wouldn't work too much while Sasuke is only focused on killing his brother, so unless I decide in this story to redeem him, and get some polls, I might add a slight of that into the story.

anyway reviews and critiques please


	4. Chapter 4

Hi Everyone

Sorry it seems every week it takes longer for me to post the stories up.

Glad when I ask for the critics, they critique.

Anyway here is chapter 3, a bit of a recap of characters, and introduction to the characters who have yet to be seen in this fan fiction

enjoy

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 3

It was dark, and quiet, very quiet. In fact, if it wasn't day time, not a single sound but the candles could be heard burning away when it gets dark.

So it was quite surprising when a knock on the door could be heard.

"Sasuke-Kun, are you awake"? The voice asked.

"…." The thirteen year old boy named Sasuke just stayed quiet. He was usually quiet but when it came to be woken up, he can be cranky.

"I know it's not the best time, but we got to move, it seems some of the Hidden leaf is starting to suspect this location, and such may be an issue in the near future."

Sasuke just turned around and realized Kabuto looked ready for travel.

"Very well" showing indifference, he got up and began to prep for whatever travel he was planning.

"Tell Orochimaru that I'll be down shortly"

"Again with the disrespect" Kabuto sighed, but left to leave Sasuke to his prep.

Sasuke didn't really need much time getting ready, he just wanted to be alone for a bit before leaving with the duo. It has been two months since he left, and he hasn't fully adjusted yet to this new routine.

Orochimaru did not disappoint; he had been training and giving him power to get stronger, the results are indeed showing. It's like he is taking him as an apprentice, while Orochimaru is the sensei.

'I suppose he would know how, he was a sensei to that Anko lady'.

Revenge was his goal, and until he could achieve it, nothing else matters. Even if he finally got a clan going, so long as Itachi lived, there is the chance of another slaughter happening. No its better to kill him first before recreating his clan again.

Itachi had told him to get the same eyes as him before facing him, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't proceed on that day when he and Naruto fought. He even saw Naruto pull back a bit at the last second before he hit his Chidori on Narutos Rasengen.

"You're still weak, and you know why? It's because you don't have enough hatred" was the whisper Sasuke kept hearing every day since he saw his older brother again.

No, he may be still weak, but he had more than enough hatred for his brother.

No, the reason why he couldn't proceed and kill Naruto was of what both he and Naruto said on that day.

S:"No, it wasn't pointless, one thing for certain you have become my best friend"

N:"Best…friend? Then why"

N:"When I'm with you, well I wonder if that's what it feels like to have a brother"

S:"Why would you go so far for me"?

N:"Because this is the first time I've had a bond like this"

He wasn't lying on that day, Naruto indeed had become his best friend, and because of it, even if it was a weakness, it hurt to think of him dying. The same way he couldn't leave Sakura on the ground after knocking her out. Both of them have become like a second family to him. To lose that family again hurt more than gaining the power Itachi spoke of. He knew leaving wouldn't mean they would too; the village would protect them. The fight showed though that he couldn't.

When shoved his Chidori through his chest, he couldn't help feel the dread dispite his outer appearance.

…And the relief when he missed.

Afterwards he was going to make him unconscious and leave, until he saw the power that Naruto held.

'Orochimaru said it was the Kuybi and that was what Itachi was after.'

He never understood why everyone hated him, and when he learned the truth everything made sense. The hate everyone gave Naruto, and yet he kept on smiling.

It was the first time he realized after discovering the truth how different in strength the two of them were. Sasuke can't let go of the past, but Naruto can. It made his decision to let Naruto live that day all the more reassuring that it was the right choice. 'I won't follow the path my brother left for me; I'll make my own way'.

SA:"Sasuke I love you so much"

'Sorry Sakura, but I have a different path to follow now'

N:"That's why I'll do everything I can, to stop you"

'I'm now a traitor Naruto. The only way I'm coming back is if you do drag me back there, I guess it's something to look forward to after I kill my brother. Until then I must become stronger'.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, are you ready?"

Only a grunt could be heard.

Sigh, "Really, some manners wouldn't hurt you know"? Kabuto lamented

Sasuke just continued to remain silent.

"Well let's proceed" leading the way, Orochimaru began to move.

"Orochimaru" Sasuke said

"Yes"

"Teach me the snake summons". Sasuke just stated, as if he was talking about the weather.

"Such disrespect" Kabuto could only sigh.

"Oh? You're already interested in them? Why the sudden interest, I was going to wait till you got more chakra built up." Orochimaru now sounded curious.

"After you explained what was in Naruto, it made me realize Itachi will continue to hunt him down. If I can tail him with the snake summon, eventually Itachi will show up again." Sasuke explained.

Orochimaru started to think for a bit, then came to a decision "very well I'll show you, but don't be too upset if all you get the little ones first, although if you're going to track your old teammate, the smaller they are, the harder to catch" as if some strange joke was being told, he started to laugh.

"Hn" satisfied, Sasuke continued to travel with the duo to the next location.

'The only bond I will only focus on is the bond of hatred with my brother. Until then, nothing else matters'

* * *

Sakura had been practicing on healing a fish, and had been getting much faster.

Impressed, Tsunade decided that it may have been time to start teaching her something else besides healing.

"Sakura" Tsunade announced.

"Hai" Sakura responded.

"You're indeed getting faster with healing, and your control is magnificent, soon I'll get you started with the hospital for simple injuries. I'll expect you to study a great deal, before I begin to show you the harder parts of medical ninjustu". She stated with a smile on her face.

"Thank you shisho" Sakura stated, bowing.

"Sakura, raise your head, I'm not finished yet" Tsunade called her over.

Curiously, Sakura approached her master.

"Listen, while you have absolute chakra control, you don't have a lot of it, therefore, until I can get you to reach a satisfactory level, only light injuries will you heal. If you're performing a surgery, and you run out of chakra, your patient will die and you'll collapse of chakra exhaustion."

Surprised, Sakura couldn't respond. She was always being protected by both Naruto and Sasuke-kun, and also knew she didn't have a lot of chakra compared to those two. That's why she figured since her control was perfect, she'd take medical ninjustu, and seeing her master was a sanin of the best in medication, she'd be to.

Now to hear unless her chakra gets larger, she cannot treat more severe injuries, her face couldn't help but frown.

Sakura grimaced 'Naruto will be leaving once Jiraiya-sama returns and the training he's going to do is no joke. I can't complain about this or else I'll never catch up to them'. She knew what was needed to be done, but had no idea of what to do about it.

With determination, she asked the question that needed answeing "What would you have me do my Lady"?

Smiling, and quite pleased with the quick question, Tsunade gave her the answer that she knew will be hell for the girl who never physically trained to death, "I'll be training you in my style of fighting. It requires a great deal of chakra control, but once executed, you will be able to go hand-to-hand with even the most powerful of enemies. It will be straining, and exhausting, but I believe you can do it."

That wasn't what she was expecting, but understood nonetheless, "Hai".

'Just you wait Naruto, Sasuke-kun; I will catch up to you guys'

She knew she would; she just didn't know how important it would become in the future.

* * *

Okay, hopefully not so much of a let down in this chapter.

Just got to finish off getting the characters I want in this fan fiction before we get into the action of it all

Hopefully more responses to the poll, and more criticism for my writing, it always helps when someone points out my mistakes


	5. Chapter 5

Hey Everyone

I know I'm a bit early with post, but since I'll be busy with dragon boating from now on on Thursdays, It's best if I upload these chapters on Wednesdays.

Again I anyone who has any critisim for me can go ahead and point them out to me, only way to keep getting better.

also I really feel I should state where Hinata stands interns of her clan, therefore this whole chapter is focused on Hinata and her relationship with her sister.

On another note I have begun to also write a new story after watch the last: Naruto the movie, please check it out and see how you like it.

Now on to the story

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 4

The household was struck quiet and peaceful at this certain time of dawn. Only the birds could be heard. Hinata, with the hopes of sneaking out quietly, had packed a light breakfast, and gradually walked to the gates.

"Nee-sama"

"Eh?" Hinata stumbled upon hearing that voice. Turning her head she saw her little sister standing behind the tree near the gates.

"Hanabi, why are you up so early?" Hinata carefully asked her.

"…." Hanabi looked straight at her sister with a hard look at first, then her look became sad and she stared at the ground.

Hinata walked up to her sister, unsure of what to make of the situation. The two of them use to be really close. Before her father began to focus on Hanabi for the heiress position of the clan, Hinata would try to make time for her after her training. After The match between the two of them, Hanabi started to become distant and focus so much on training, that they barely spoke much. Hinata couldn't help but feel she let her little sister down sometimes of the fact the burden to be a strong clan leader now fell to her.

"….Would you like to come with me to the training grounds Hanabi?" Hinata hesitantly asked. She originally was going to practice on her flexibility and chakra control to improve her new technique, but she didn't want to leave Hanabi alone with that expression on her face.

Her eyes widened with surprise and shock "But Tou-sama won't allow it without permission, a-and you could get in trouble if something were to happen to me".

"Then I guess I'll just have to protect my little sister until we get you back home" Hinata couldn't help but smile. Whatever she felt earlier when her sister approached her left her shoulders, and she knew her sister was fighting with herself on whether to come or not.

"….Promise"?

"Promise, I won't go back on my word." Hinata declared.

Hanabi's expression suddenly changed into an expression Hinata hasn't seen since her fight that day; a sincere smile.

"Kay, I'll come. Where will be heading"? Hanabi suddenly grabbed Hinata's hand and begun to run out of the gate's.

"W—w—w-i-ia-ttt, calm d-d-ow-nn", Came her reply. It seemed Hanabi was more enthused just from that promise.

Hinata hoped that after the training, maybe Hanabi could tell her what is on her mind.

* * *

After the quick breakfast that Hinata had prepared earlier( Rice balls), and shared it with Hanabi, They began with their Juyken warm ups, breathing exercises, and activated their Byakugan in order to see how far it would go.

Before Hinata could ask what Hanabi had on her mind, her sister finally decided to ask.

"Nee-sama, since Tou-sama is not here, please let us spar"

Surprise and dread spread across Hinata's face. After their fight in front of the clan, they never faced each other. Hinata had no idea why her little sister wished to fight her now.

"..Why?" She couldn't help but ask.

"…There's something I want to see, I promise I'll tell you later afterwards. I just didn't want to fight you with everyone around, just you and me", was her response.

Although Hinata wasn't really willing to fight her sister, even she could see the determination, and even a little bit of pleading in her eyes.

With her decision made, Hinata awakend her Byakugan and got into the huyga stance, "Very well then, get into form" was her response.

"Hai" Hanabi also got into form and activated her Byakugan. For almost a minute they just stood there, and then Hanabi began to rush at her.

Right, left, front was Hanabi's move, while Hinata just simply dodged. It was almost like a dance where Hanabi was sharp and grounded, while Hinata was flexible and fluid. Hit after hit, dodge after dodge (Think of Neji' and Hinata's fight, except Hinata is doing Neji's move, while Hanabi is doing Hinata's moves instead), until Hinata was able to move Hanabi's move downwards, causing her to stumble. However, instead of delivering a blow that could have declared her the winner of the fight, Hinata hesitated (think of that moment the same as the first time for those who watched the anime).

Hanabi recovered, and, instead of following an attack, she backed up. This process was repeated several times, and while Hinata never dealt a blow, she also kept blocking all of Hanabi's attack on her. Finally after the last hesitation, Hanabi said something unexpected.

"Tou-sama is wrong"

It was stated as a fact that made Hinate step back and land on her butt. She wasn't exactly sure what her sister was meaning by it, but Hanabi never thought that way. Hanabi, from Hinata's point of view, always saw their father as the idol of what a head clan member should be. In her little sisters eyes their dad was perfect.

To hear her say that, Hinata just couldn't help herself, "what do you mean he's wrong, wrong about what?"

"He is wrong about you."

If before didn't shock her, this certainly did. Surprised and confused, she wondered what had gotten her sister say this all of this. Hanabi had been acting strange this morning, and this conversation just made Hinata even more aware of it.

Noticing her sister's confusion, Hanabi began to explain, "….when I was younger, I use to spy on you and Neji-ni-sans training. I wanted to be like you, strong yet kind. You always held yourself with confidence, and no matter how tired you seemed to be throughout the day, you always made time to play with me. I began training hoping to be like you, until Tou-sama began to pit us against each other." At this point tears began to appear in Hanabi's eyes. Hinata went up to her and lifted her arms in an attempt to hug her sister, but thought better of it, "When we had that finale fight and I won, I was both happy and sad. Happy because it meant I was becoming strong like you, then sad when dad said the things he said to you. Afterwards, dad began to focus on me and kept saying how I would be a better clan head and I will never be a failure like you", at this point the tears were falling down her cheeks, "it hurt to hear him call you that, especially since I thought it was just a fluke and only one match. After you said you wouldn't runaway anymore when we came to see you at the hospital, I had to confirm something, even more so when that boy Naruto beat Neji-ni-san." Hanabi wiped her eyes and started to take deep breaths in order to calm herself after her outbreak.

"You hesitated back then, didn't you? I didn't notice it since I was young, but during our spar you could have beaten me many times, but didn't." Hanabi's stare was strong, as if to say 'don't lie'.

Hinata couldn't look her in the eyes and just kept her eyes down. She never once even thought her little sister held her with such high praises. Her father thought of her as a failure. Her cousin also deemed her a failure, only recently beginning to help her train of his own free will, and without any of the hatred he once had. Even though the branch members were always kind to her, she couldn't help but feel there disappointment. Her only escape was to watch Naruto train, even though everyone put him down. Watching him fall just to get up again made her want to keep trying and not complain.

"Nee-sama" Hanabi approached her, showing signs of nerves Hinata has never seem in her sisters' face. Hinata lifted her head up and gave her a weak smile, "gomen Hanabi, seems you Nee-sama hasn't been a good Nee-sama to you. I promise to do better in the future".

Not able to hold it in any longer, Hanabi, for the first time in years, acted her age and ran and hugged her sister, squeezing the living daylights of her.

"Tou-sama is wrong because you're not weak, and you're not a failure. You're strong and kind and I never want you to change because that's the Nee-sama I admire, and that's the Nee-sama I want to lead the clan. If I'm to be the clan head, I want you with me to help. I'll never believe anything Tou-sama ever says about you bad again". Hanabi declared, with fresh new tears appearing in her eyes.

Hinata, unable to stop the tears spilling from her eyes, hugged her little sister back. Happiness filled her and her confidence grew. Her little sister had always believed in her, even back then. Well now she really could never complain if her sister believed that she was the one meant for clan head.

"Arigato Hanabi"

* * *

Awww, I actually wasn't sure what to make of their relationship, what came to my head I just got it going. Watching those anime fillers of Hanabi made me want her to actually respect Hinata instead of the usual attitude of looked down upon.

Anyway, I promise the next chapter will have more variety to it.

Please check out my new story called **"The unexpected survivor"** I'll be posting chapters for it every Friday.

Reviews


	6. Chapter 6

Hey Everyone

This chapter and the next few chapters might be familiar to some of you if you watched the fillers after the Sasuke retrieval arc and before Naruto Shippuden, although there will be some changes to it

Anyway enjoy, and if there's any opinions on the stories, please let me know, i won't take offense.

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 5

After the morning warmup, and sparing some more with Hanabi, Hinata went to meet up with her teammates around 10 a.m.

Kiba and Shino were already there, with Akumaru sitting on Kiba's head. She greeted them, with Kiba loudly saying good morning, and Shino with a nod of Acknowledgment. There was just one person missing from team 8.

"Where's Kurenai-sensei"? Hinata asked.

"She has been sent on a solo mission, since we are still short on shinobi after the invasion during the chunin exams, it's to be expected," was Shino's reply.

"Aww man, I've been itching for a harder mission in order to practice mine and Akumaru's new jutsu" Kiba complained with Akumaru barking in response.

Hinata just looked to the floor. She had been hoping to ask her sensei if she could help out Naruto with his genjutsu problem.

"If you like, we can visit Naruto at the hospital before heading to the Hokage tower. From what I could tell, his sensei sent him there after overstraining from training." Shino stated quietly.

Hinata couldn't help the blush coming to her cheeks. Naruto must have continued training after meeting her and Neji.

"I-I-I'll h-h-head to t-the f-f-f-flower shop f-first", and with that note, she started running to her destination at top speed.

"Hmm, Shino, you seem to have some sort of idea forming in your head. Care to share?" Kiba couldn't help but smirk.

"With time, you'll see. In fact, I think you'll probably find the whole situation funny", Shino himself couldn't stop the smirk from forming of its own.

* * *

With a groan, Naruto sat up, and scanned his surroundings. After the training with Kakashi-sensei last night, he collapsed from exhaustion, and from the look of things is now in the hospital.

'Why is this seeming like a common thing these days'? He couldn't help but feel annoyed about the situation. After having a meaningful conversation with his sensei, he decided to ask Tsunade-baa-chan again to look for Sasuke. Getting out of bed and stretching out, he was starting to hear some muttering on the back door.

'Hehe, I'll hang from the top tiles and surprise her, that way with her guard down she'll say yes before she realizes what's happening.' Getting into position, he gradually waited, until he heard the door slide open.

* * *

After Hinata had gone to the flower shop and met up with her team at the front of the hospital, they came to an amusing situation.

"Lady Tsunade, please you must stop sneaking away"

"Come now Shizune, even I need a break in between, that paper work is a nightmare"

"But you're always taking more breaks than completing your work, surly just until you finished half that paper work you can rest up"

"Half!? Shizune, didn't you see that paperwork, doing half will probably take a few days"

"Are we interrupting by any chance?" Shino asked.

Both Shizune and Tsunade turned around to see the genin team coming by.

"Shino, Kiba, Hinata, what brings you to the hospital?" Tsunade pleasantly asked.

"Lady Tsunade, please stop prolonging" Shizune pleaded.

"Umm what's going?" came Kiba's confused face.

"Oh nothing, just taking a little break, being a Hokage is a lot of work."

"You haven't even made much progress or worked much to require a break."

"Oh, leave it for now. So what brings team 8 to the hospital, visiting Naruto perhaps?" Tsunade asked while lifting an eyebrow.

"We all decided to come in case the same thing happens like last time", was Kiba's response.

Forgetting her argument with the fifth for the moment, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened last time?"

"I-its n-n-nothing-"

"Hinata took one look at Naruto covered in bandages-"

"Kiba!"

"And she wasn't able to take it and fainted-"

"Shino!"

"Ohhh" Tsunade couldn't keep the smirk, almost turning laugh, off her face.

"I'll be fine this time", exclaimed Hinata as she slid the door open.

"There you are, I have a bone to pick with you Tsunade-Baa-chan!" came the sound of Naruto's voice.

Nobody moved at that moment. Naruto, who had spoken earlier, was seen hanging upside down, with his face only mere inches away from Hinata's. The others were paralyzed with what her reaction would be.

"Oh Hinata" was his response after opening his eyes, oblivious to the situation at hand.

Hinata had now dropped the flowers that she had brought with her, with her face growing red as a tomato.

'N-Naruto-kuns face i-is s-so close' was her only thought

"Hey Hinata, are you okay? Your face is turning red, are you catching a fever or something?" Came the sound of Naruto's voice, as he placed his hand on her forehead.

The feel of his hand became too much.

"Uh-Ahh" She screamed, as she slammed her forehead onto his.

"Ahhh" was his response as he twirled and slammed onto the wall behind him.

Dizzy slowly walking backwards, her teammates attempted to catch her, with her falling through their arms.

"Hinata? You got to be kidding me." Was Kiba's response.

"Yo snap out of it Hinata" trying to get her to wake up.

All she could mumble was "Oh Naruto-kun".

* * *

Neji was looking up at the sky, trying to count the amount of birds in the tree.

'There are seven birds' while counting; he threw the rock up at the tree. All of the birds went flying, and Neji realized something.

'Eight birds, one must have been in the shadow' while thinking this, he hears and sees his teammate.

"Neji", was Tenten in her ninja gear. She is always on time and one of the best Kunoichi in weapons.

"Tenten" Nodded Neji in greeting. Ever since becoming a ninja, both his sensei and male comrade have been a bit to over enthusiastic in training; Tenten is the only other sane comrade on his team.

"Hey where are Lee and Guy-sensei?" Tenten asked.

"I believe Lee is continuing rehab with the nurses" Neji replied with a smirk.

"What is so funny?" She was confused.

"Well knowing Lee, how do you think rehab is going for him?" His smirk was only getting bigger.

"…"

"…"

"….ugh" Tenten was starting to get it. Not too long afterwards you could start hearing a yell close coming.

"NEJI, TENTEN, I'M ON MY WAY TO TRAIN WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH TOGETHER" was the loud voice of their teammate.

"Lee what do you think you're doing, the reason for rehab is to gradually get better, if you over exert yourself before it's complete, you will be backtracking your treatment!" Yelled Tenten.

Lee skidded to a halt, with his eyes big eyed and taken aback, "but Tenten, there training is far low my caliber of training, I'll never improve and get better at this rate".

"If you're unsatisfied with your rehab then perhaps you should bring it up with the Hokage" was Neji's simple solution.

"Do not worry Neji, training with you guys should prove I can continue forth, and if I am unable to keep up, I shall do 500 laps around the village, and if I can't do that I'll-"

"Stop that patient, he's still in rehab, only going to continue to strain his injuries after the surgery" was a voice heard from a distance.

"…"

"….Lee did you run away from the hospital?" Tenten calmly asked.

"Well…"

"Lee!"

"Alright pal, if you continue to avoid rehab and workout a heavy workout, it's going to be counterproductive to your recovery" was the nurses' complaint.

"But…"

"No buts, if you keep running away, I'll get the Hokage to forbid you from being a ninja until your 30, then you can forget training, how's that!" the nurse wasn't going to budge on that fact.

"…yes ma'am" was all Lee could do as he was being pulled away.

"Sigh, I guess it's going to take far longer with him, but what about Guy-sensei?" voicing her thoughts.

"He is currently on a mission, might not get back for a few days" was his response.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me this morning for training" as stating it, took out her weapons.

"Indeed" while he got into position of the gentle fist style.

I guess today was just going to be another normal day. Looking at Tenten in her fighting position, ready to take charge, Neji couldn't help thinking that he could get used to it.

* * *

"C'mom Baa-chan, please let me try looking for Sasuke again, we got about three years before that snake takes over, any chance we get is worth it"

Hinata was starting to stir, the noise gradually getting louder.

"And I told you before, unless there are leads to where Orochimaru's base is, there is no point in looking. We need a lead, not some thoughtless search. That's how people can get killed Naruto."

Hinata is now fully awake, her head turned to where the sound is.

"I see you're now awake" came Shino's voice.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"About 20 minutes or so" he quietly replied.

"Ah, come on baa-chan, there must be something you can do" came Naruto's voice from afar.

"…" Hinata was pondering about something. Team 8 is the rookie's track team, surely if any team had a chance of finding Sasuke, it was her team.

"Shino, I've got a question…"

"It's about looking for Sasuke right? Hmm, well there might be away around this time of year". Shino began to ponder how to present the case to the hokage.

Hinata looked at Shino and felt hopeful that there might be a chance to help Naruto bring Sasuke back. Looking at the two continue to argue, her eyes took a turn towards determination.

'Naruto-kun, this time I promise to help you'.

* * *

Any that's a wrap

By the way, would love to see more votes on those polls, please vote if haven't done so

and also please check out my other story if you have read it yet.

On another note, I'm pleased to see this story has close to 1300 views since published, not sure if thats really high, low, or in between.

Cheers guys


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to post this up. These past two days had been busy with my dad leaving back home, then house cleaning, then practice, I hope I didn't make anyone sad.

Anyway hope you like it, I don't own Naruto, and Critics and feedback and polls are appreciated.

Almost 1700 traffic

* * *

Chapter 6

Hanabi was slowly walking back to the compound while lost in her own thoughts, ignoring everyone along the way. She had acted unusual with her sister, but she also felt like something heavy had been lifted off of her chest. The fight with Hinata had proven to Hanabi that her sister was the stronger of the two; she just was far kinder than most Huygas whereas they were stern. 'Perhaps Tou-san already knows, but because of the elders he had it played off as weakness' she thought that would ease her anger towards him, but for some reason it made her more angry; he was the head his word should be absolute.

"I guess I should read the history and see what I can do about the elders in the future" she thought out loud. While she was walking, she didn't notice the three boys following her who appeared to be 2 or 3 years her senior. Once she had reached an empty location towards the Huyga district, they decided to make an appearance.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here; a pupil less freak" said one of the boys.

Hanabi had stopped and turned around. She had the look of shock on her face; how did she not notice them, and how are they being so bold to make fun of her.

"Yeah, and what a shrimp, there certainly letting them out young these days, hey what cat got your tongue" said a second boy; they had circled around her at this point.

"Do you know who I am, and what clan I belong to?" Answered Hanabi; her voice was shaking in anger.

"Of course, that's what makes you a freak, thinking that just because you come from a great clan, your automatically allowed favouritism, it pisses everyone off" stated the other boy as he rushed towards her. She began to get into position, but the other two had held her arms back.

"Let me go" she yelled, squirming to get her arms released.

The boy had punched her in her stomach, knocking the air out of her; they had let go of her arms and she fell to her knees.

"Not so confident now are you now you freak?" The first boy sneered.

Tears of pain were beginning to form on her eyes, and she had wished that she had listened to her sister to walk her home earlier. 'Even if I'm strong, Nee-sama still has more experience dealing with multiple people' feeling disappointed in herself, she was about to just let them continue, when she heard a voice nearby.

"Hey you three weaklings, why don't you stop picking on the girl and take me on instead"

* * *

Konohamaru was bored. Despite being a hyperactive person, he actually was an early riser, but now, wandering the streets, he wished he had been able to sleep longer. His two friends were going to be busy with their families today, and since the semester was over, he had two months before the next year.

'This sucks, Naruto-ni-chan must be out on a mission and my two friends just can't make it today' he thought to himself. So far only those three saw him for who he was and not just the honorable grandson. He really wanted to change everyone's idea about him, wanted to earn their respect, not just given to him because he was related to the third. 'Even though Asuma-jij is his son, he is joinin and able to be respected for his abilities' his uncle, from what he heard from his dad, never really got along with his grandfather, I guess it was similar to how he would feel about being called the "Honorable grandson". 'Man I can't really get myself in the mood to train at the moment, I'll just wander some more to clear my head' thinking this, he realized he arrived at an empty location. Deciding to just let his feet take him, he suddenly heard a yelp nearby. 'Is someone in trouble?' Thinking this, he rushed to where the voices could be heard.

"Not so confident now are you now you freak?" He heard as he arrived on the scene presented before him; three boys were surrounding what looked like a girl much younger than them; she was on her knees holding her stomach. He couldn't just sit by, he hated bullies. Gulping, he tried to put his most confident face on, and yelled out, "Hey you three weaklings, why don't you stop picking on the girl and take me on instead".

The boys stopped and turned to the voice that had called out; Konohamaru could see they were at least 2 or 3 years older, but what pissed him off was he's seen these three do something similar at the academy to some of the students during lunch break when the sensei's weren't around.

"What you call us shrimp?" One of the boys had yelled out.

"You heard me, if it takes all three of you to take on a girl who looks 3 years younger than you than you must be weak" he stated, looking at the girl in question; he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was shocked.

"Get him" yelled one of the boys; they were charging at him.

Getting into position, he thought to what his sensei said about breathing, and thinking on your feet.

"Clone justu" he yelled, as three popped up next to him. Then, he threw a smoke ball on the ground.

"Where did he go I can't see him" yelled one of the boys.

"There he is" said the other, going to chase the three running Konohamarus.

As the three rushed to chase them, they never noticed the real one being covered as a rock, 'hehe I may not be strong, but at least I can be clever' looks like the pranks certainly helped his strategizing skills. Once certain that they were gone, he took his cover off, and walked towards the girl; she still had the look of shock on her face.

"I hope they didn't hurt you, are you okay?" he asked while taking in her appearance: she has dark brown hair that reached to her middle back, with her long bangs parted, and one lock on her face. Her eyes were white, with a tint of lilac in them. She looked to be wearing a sleeveless, blue V-neck shirt with mesh armour underneath; blue shorts and sandals. 'She's cute' was his thought as he gave his hand out to help her up. She shook her head and took the hand he offered. She asked the question that made his eyes widen.

"Who are you?"

* * *

"Who are you?" she had asked him. She felt hurt that mere civilians were able to beat her like that, even if they were older and there were more of them than her. She was surprised that a boy her age would help a stranger, and was actually able to help her. He had short spiky brown hair and black eyes. He also had a small chip in his tooth. His outfit consisted of a yellow shirt with the Konoha symbol in red, grey shorts, and long blue scarf. He was wearing a pair of googles on his forehead.

"Konohamaru Sarutobi of the Sarutobi clan, what's your?" He asked.

"Hanabi Huyga of the Huyga clan" she responded back.

"Hmmmm" he said as he deeply looked into her eyes.

"W-w-what?" She fidgeted; he was staring intensely at her.

"I don't get it" he said

"Get what?"

"Get how they could make fun of your eyes, I mean I'm looking at them now and they aren't freakish at all, their actually pretty" nodding his head as if he figured he came to a conclusion.

At this point Hanabi was starting to blush from both the compliment, and feeling embarrassed; that's the first time someone had called her eyes pretty.

"Ahhh, I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything, I was just stating a fact" he quickly said as he turned his head and began to turn red as well.

She began to giggle, and he smiled. It was strange, she didn't really have any friends her age, but even though he was a bit loud and obnoxious, he was nice.

"Well thank you for helping me from those bullies, I owe you one. I need to return back home though before my father starts sending a search party for me or something" she said bowing.

"Hehe no problem, if you ever want to play, I'll be at the academy grounds sometime tomorrow afternoon, later Hanabi-chan" he waved off heading east.

'Tommorow huh? Maybe I can tell tou-san that I want to go for a walk after morning training and meet up with him' she thought. It would be nice to get to know him and maybe be friends.

"…See you tomorrow…Konohamaru-kun" she said quietly to no one in particular.

* * *

"Bikochu? So it's that time of the season again isn't it?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes it is, back during the war times my clan used the Bikochu to pick up specific scents. It's even stronger than dog's sense of smell. I believe if we use this method then at the very least we can find a base if not Sasuke Uchiha himself" Shino explained.

Rubbing her temples, it actually bought more time to figure out what Orochimarus lackey was doing with a Kumo shinobi. It also might help get a certain genin off her back as well.

"Alright, this will be a B-rank mission with the risk of others also looking for this rare bug as well. Shino you will be in charge of this mission. I also want you to take someone else along this mission as well since he would have one of Sasukes item on hand with his scent" Tsunade stated in her hokage mode.

"Understood, so where is he?" Shino asked.

"Hey, I was asked to come in let me through" came a voice from behind the door before it opened up revealing one Naruto Uzumaki.

"Sorry, there wouldn't let me through, so what did you need me for Tsunade-Baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

Sighing, Tsunade waved her hand to the team in the room, "Meet team 8 in front of the gates in one hour. Shino will explain the mission details just make sure you have something of Sasukes on hand."

Looking at the team, then at Tsunade, he smiled and made a salute sign, "you got it" then dashed out of the room.

"Well I suppose we should get ready, lets head out" Shino said as the rest of the team left as well.

* * *

Gathering everything she needed, she put her backpack on and left her room.

"Going out on a mission Hinata" said her father as he was walking towards her.

Surprised, she replied, "h-hai, it will be a few days out of the village".

Nodding, he proceeds to walk forward. As she continued to walk she heard him speak, "Don't get in the way of your team".

Her shoulders slouched, and began to move a bit faster, nearly running into Neji, until the last second she spun on her foot.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry" she said not noticing her cousins surprised looked on his face.

"Psst, nee-sama" came a voice in one of the rooms.

Pausing and turning her head, she saw her sister in the room she usually trains in.

"You are going on a mission right?" She asked

"Yeah, I am" she replied, remembering what her father said.

Seeing this, she just gently patted her sisters arm, "hey, remember to not listen to tou-san; you're not a failure so give it your all" Hanabi said.

Raising her head, she smiled at her little sister, and then proceeded to leave.

'Naruto-kun wouldn't be down on himself, and if he won't give up then neither will I'

* * *

Hiashi was supposed to be known as a cold, stern person, but that was not the case; he loved his family and wished to fix the strain as much as possible. He began with Neji after the chunin exams, and was trying to figure out what to do with his elder daughter. Truth was he personally believed that Hinata may be the right heir with her personality since she cares to help the clan, not just make it a front of strength, but he couldn't sway the elders with his words alone; Hinata had to prove to them that she was capable.

His words this morning was him hoping it would motivate her to do her best, but he saw that it only dampened her instead. After seeing the exchange of movement with Neji, it only confirmed his belief that she indeed held more potential than his younger child. He had proceeded to follow a bit and perhaps see if he could say something else to say when he saw the exchange with the two siblings. He knew when Hanabi thought she snuck back in quietly that she had gone with Hinata that morning. He wasn't sure what was said with the two, but the exchange gave him a thought; Hanabi acted a little more distant with him that morning. Seeing the youngest cheer up his eldest, and telling her to disregard his words, made him think perhaps compliments might be the best with working with Hinata; he saw the confidence return to her before leaving again.

'Hinata, I truly wish I could be the father that you needed back then, hopefully it's not too late to start again once you return.' He thought to himself while thinking of his wife. 'She truly does look like you, I wonder what would have happened had you stayed, perhaps things would have been different for our daughters'

He only hoped that Hinata got strong enough before the decision came to who would truly lead the clan.

* * *

Done.

So yeah It's far longer than my usual chapters; I just didn't want to put part stuff on the next chapter in order to not make anything confusing.

Thanks for being patient with me.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone

I guess the expectation will either be Wednesday evening, or Thursday afternoons for these postings as I can't keep it as consisted as I'm trying to.

Am pleased with the traffic I'm getting, and am happy everyone reading this is enjoying the story so far.

I won't change too much based on this part of the story of the Bikochu as it was more of my favorite episodes when it came to fillers, but I don't think it will make too much of a difference.

Again critics and feedback is helpful, I know someone pointed out in my 'Eyes of the first, and Heart of the second' that I switch too much from first to third person too often. If someone could let me know if they have noticed it in this story I'd appreciate it so I keep the stories less confusing to read.

Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 7

Team 8 was at the gates waiting for Naruto to show up. Technically he still had fifteen minutes until they needed to leave, but they wanted to fill him in on the mission before they left.

"Hey guys" a familiar voice was calling them, "Sorry, I was looking for the item with Sasuke's scent on it" the person had now made himself known.

"D-don't w-w-worry about it N-Naruto-kun, you s-still h-h-have fifteen minutes" Hinata explained.

"More importantly, were you able to locate the item with the scent?" Shino asked.

Naruto nodded, and proceed to walk out the gates.

"Wait a sec Naruto, first we need to fill you in, and Shino is in charge" Kiba explained, looking slightly annoyed.

Pausing, Naruto looked embarrassed as he scratched behind his head, "Sorry about that Shino, I guess I'm excited to start the mission."

"That's fine, now listen to what I'm going to say to you" and Shino begun to explain everything that had happed at the hokage tower for the mission. He took a photo out of his pocket to show the bug that they would be searching for: The Bikochu has a long nostril with blues eyes, it looked like a giant bug of the many kind.

Naruto had absorbed the info given to him, but the picture confused him; it looked familiar to him.

"Oi, I think I saw one of those before" he suddenly stated.

All three of team 8 looked at him shocked.

"Yeah, one time when I had left a bunch of empty ramen cups lying around at my house, a bunch of them came crawling on my table" he explained as nodding his head confirmed it all.

"Baka, that's a cockroach, they don't look anything the same" Kiba yelled out, gaining a twitch in his eye.

"Eh, really? I don't see the difference"

"Well there is" all three of them answered at the same time.

"Okay, okay I get it, can we go now then" Naruto pouted.

"Let's be on our way, we only have a few days until the Bikochu will lay her eggs" Shino said as team 8 began to follow him.

"Hey wait for me" Naruto ran after them.

* * *

"Now Sakura, were going to do a different set of training today, but first what can you tell me about the rule for a medic?" Tsunade asked.

"Rule one: never give up on medical treatment until the patients dying breath. Rule two: A medic ninja must never go to the front lines. Rule three: A medic ninja must always be the last of their platoon to die." Sakura answered.

"That is correct, however, there's a fourth rule that I have yet to teach anyone; those who master the ninja art of mitotic regeneration, the 100 healings, are allowed to break the first three rules." Tsunade told Sakura.

Surprise showed on her face as she didn't know that there was a fourth rule, and then confusion clouded her face as she had never heard of the justu before.

"The 100 healings? I have never heard of it" she said.

"Yes, so far I am the only one capable of using the technique; one requires extensive charka control to master this technique. First things are you have to slowly build a secondary chakra fountain next to your original charka base for the next three years. This will be hard to do as it needs perfect chakra control, and you might feel more chakra exhausted than usual as you're sending a slow portion of your chakra to a secondary location. Once you complete the three years collection, you can abide by the fourth rule, and also, your chakra will be at full capacity. It will look like the symbol on my forehead." Tsunade explained, pointing to the diamond shape on her forehead.

Now Sakura was both excited, and nervous; while she'd be learning a new technique, if only Tsunade was able to learn it, then it might be impossible for her to do it.

"Do you know why I'm telling you this? As a disciple of the fifth hokage, and legendary sanin, I truly believe you are the only one after me capable of learning this technique; not even Shizune was able to pick it up" Tsunade said, she was smiling at her.

Feeling a sense of flattery and confidence boost, she saluted her and decided right then that she knew she'd be able to do it if her sensei was able to believe in her.

"On another note Sakura, I also have decided to teach you how to fight with focusing your chakra into one single location. As a medical ninja, there are chances when your comrades are unable to help you out during a fight, thus being able to fight back becomes important. You need to constantly keep your eyes open and observe the battlefield so you can counterattack and survive. Are you prepared to train with me on the training field?" Tsunade said with full seriousness in her voice.

Nodding, she slowly got into her taijustu position.

Tsunade suddenly jumped and aimed to land a low kick on her.

She jumped out of the way, the ground cracked and broke from where she was standing on. She had one of eyes closed since some of the rocks were splintering towards her direction.

"Keep your eyes open, how you are supposed to counterattack if you have them closed" yelled Tsunade.

Sakura opened her eyes as she got into her position again; she felt as if this was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Here's a good place, we shall rest here for the night" Shino said suddenly stopping, taking off his backpack, and taking out the tent equipment.

"What? But it's still bright outside, we can still cover more distance" Naruto complained.

"Naruto, I am in charge, now help out with the tent" Shino ordered.

Mumbling of unfairness, he helped out with the tent, and slowly put on his sleeping gear. Once he had put his head down, he had planned on complain again until he yawned and fell asleep instantly.

"Geez, all that complaining and he's the first to fall asleep" Kiba complained.

"Let's all get ready for some sleep" Shino stated.

"Hai, Hai" Kiba agreed.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Hinata slowly rose, and looked at Naruto at the end of the tent. She couldn't help but smile seeing that relaxed frame of his before heading out of the tent.

Once she was close to the lake, she started to strip off her clothe in order to avoid getting them wet for the training she was planning on doing.

'I need to completely control my chakra if I have any chance on executing my clans techniques' she thought as she approached the middle of the water and got into position.

'Longer, wider, more flexible, faster, more controlled, focus' she kept humming to herself as she began to move with fluidity and grace.

* * *

Someone else in the middle of the night had woken up. Still looking half asleep, he groggily rubbed his eyes.

"Gotta go" Naruto mumbled as he slowly got up and left a tent.

He found a bush slightly far from the tent and started to relive himself. As he began to head back, he suddenly heard splashing. Curious, he made his way towards where he could hear the waterfall.

What he saw took his breath; a waterfall with a rainbow in the background, and on top of that was the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He couldn't see her face due to it being dark, but the way she moved, lifted her arms, the way the water moved around her, he couldn't take his eyes away from it.

He had decided that he wanted to meet the lovely maiden instead of watching the beautiful show in front of him, "hello the-ahhh"the sentence got cut off as his foot slipped on the rock, and he fell into the water.

"Of all the….Sorry, I didn't scare you did I, huh?" Naruto lifted his head up to see that the lovely maiden had suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was a rainbow.

"That's weird, where did she go?" he couldn't help feel down, not realizing the clothing near the rocks across from him.

* * *

"Achoo" Naruto sneezed, also yawing in the process.

"All that sleep and your still tired?" Shino asked.

"Well the truth is I woke up in the middle of the night because I had to go, and I saw something amazing" Naruto explained.

"Achoo" Hinata suddenly sneezed.

"Are you catching a cold too Hinata?" Naruto asked looking concerned.

"Oh no, I'm alright" Hinata said; she had stayed training in the nude, even after Naruto left last night, thus she was shivering by the time she felt satisfied.

Kiba suddenly wrapped an arm around Naruto with his head on his shoulder, "so, what was the amazing thing you saw last night?" Kiba asked.

"A waterfall, with a beautiful lady in it" Naruto exclaimed.

"No way"

"Yeah, and whenever she moved her hands, the water moved with it, I'm telling you it was awesome" Naruto began to move his hands as he explained the scenario.

"So, what happened?" Kiba asked again.

"Well, I went to talk to her, but suddenly she was gone"

"What? Are you sure you didn't just dream this up?" Kiba asked doubtful.

"Hmmm, I'm not so sure anymore" Naruto now looked confused as he thought it over.

What neither of the two was noticing as they talked about the incident from last night was a certain white eyed teammate had opened her eyes in shock from the words of 'beautiful', and as the rest of the story followed, her face turned from blushes, to steaming red, as if smoke looked like it might steam out of her ears.

"Are you sure you're okay Hinata? Your face is looking a little red" Naruto asked, looking concerned again.

"I-I-I'm f-fine" Hinata stuttered. She couldn't believe that the person who saw her was none other than Naruto, and what was most embarrassing was that he hadn't even realized that it was her in the lake.

"We still have time before the Bikochu begins laying her eggs; we will walk to conserve our strength when we begin our search" Shino stated.

* * *

"Ahhh, this is so boring, on my day off and Kaa-san needs me to look after the flower shop" Ino complained. She had been hoping to find Sakura and hang out; it has been almost a month and a half since the retrieval for Sasuke had failed. She hadn't seen Sakura since and wanted to see how she was holding up.

A ringing was heard indicating that she had a customer, and looking up she saw the person she was thinking of. Sakura looked like she had run through a marathon though from how dirty and ragged her clothing looked.

"Well, look at you forehead, it looks like you went through a training camp" Ino joked.

"Heh, it feels like I did too, I didn't think the physical training would be so strenuous, how the hell Naruto and Sasuke-kun were able to do it is amazing" Sakura grumbled; it looked like she was barely able to move without breathing heavily.

"Hey, everything okay?" Ino asked, all humor now gone from her voice.

"Just really tired, it's the first day so I expect it will take time until my stamina begins to build up. I was thinking of asking Lee for that, but it seems he's not taking the rehab seriously, causing it to take longer."

"Hmmmm, well it might be a little manipulative, but since he has a crush on you, why not be the one to help him in his rehab so he finishes quickly, and then he'll be more enthused to train with you" Ino said, offering some advice.

"That could work actually; I came here to get him the flower of friendship anyway before visiting him. I'll ask the nurse if I could take over, they might be relived from all the commotion I hear he's been causing" Sakura agreed as she found the flower she was looking for, paid for it, and started to leave.

"Hey, once I'm done work for today, let's meet up and talk; it's been awhile" Ino suddenly blurted out.

Sakura looked startled, then a genuine smile displayed on her face, "I'd like that, later Ino-pig" and she headed out the door.

Ino for her part couldn't help but be surprised at seeing Sakura; she had expected the tearing or depressed look on her face, pushing people away, not the tired but determined look, still willing to talk to everyone around her, or her motivation to get better.

'I guess I was worried for nothing' Ino thought, looking relieved that she was wrong.

* * *

Well that's that, and Man I had to read this three times til I was satisfied.

I've seemed to reach over 2000 in terms of traffic, very happy with that, hope to get more follows and reviews in the future

Cheers


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone

This chapter is going to be very close to the cannon for those who watched the Bikochu Episode.

Just want to finish that arc soon so I can continue with all the characters.

On the up side, for those who enjoyed that filler, I hope this is good enjoyment as well.

Don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 8

"It's not this one. Not that one either. Ahh man, how many bugs are in this place anyway" Naruto complained as he went to another tree to look.

While he searched, the trio conversed about something that came to their attention.

"Hey did you guys notice?" Asked Kiba.

"Hai" Hinata responded.

"Indeed. It seems were not the only ones who are after the Bikochu. From what my insects can tell, it seems that the Kamizuru Clan is here as well" Shino explained.

"Kamizuru Clan?" Kiba and Hinata both asked.

"The Kamizuru Clan is a group of bee users from Iwagakure. My clan and theirs clashed during the shinobi war. My clan for the most part crushed the majority of theirs, now bringing their numbers to practically extinction. I'm surprised to see that their active right now, but for now we should ignore them while they pose no threat" Shino explained.

"Should w-we t-tell –N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Nah, if he knew then he would start screaming about it, plus he can't act calm at all" Kiba said.

"I agree it would scare off the bugs. For now we shouldn't say anything and focus on finding the Bikochu" Shino agreed.

"Hey you guys, it's not fair if I'm the only one looking for this bug, help me out here" Naruto's voice broke in, startling all three.

"C-coming N-Naruto-Kun" and with that all four of them continued to look for it.

* * *

As the Konoha shinobi continued the search, the three shinobi with the Iwagakure headbands laid in wait.

"Are you sure we should rely on those brats to look for the Bikochu? What if they don't find it by the time the dead line hits" one of the men spoke.

"Hush, and in case you didn't notice, one of those brats is an Aburame. As much as I hate to admit it, there bugs are better for tracking then our own. Plus from the looks of things one of them is also a tracker, and the other is a Huyga. They'll find it and when they do we'll take it from them" said the women of the three.

"Well, we'll just keep ourselves hidden until then" the youngest one of the three said.

And that's how they proceeded for the next few days.

* * *

The next few days followed this routine of searching for the Bikochu, resting, sleeping, eating, and continuing the search. On the evenings when everyone would be sleeping, Hinata continued to train on her chakra control on top of the water, clothed this time so an incident didn't occur like before.

'If I don't get my chakra control to be perfect, I'll never get that technique to be perfectly executed.' Wave after wave with her hands, the water would move around her, and it would spiral with absolute control, preventing her from getting wet in the process. 'Longer, wider, more flexible, faster, more controlled, focus'

On the final day, the scent of moisture could be noticed and there was still no such luck on finding the Bikochu.

'In the end I wasn't able to be of any help, I'm sorry Naruto-kun' Hinata thought as tears began to fall down her face.

"Not yet" It startled her out of her thought process, "There's still time, the next one, and the next one" Naruto continued to look with determination on not giving up.

'Naruto-kun' she thought as it suddenly began to rain. Looking up at the sky showed the clouds turning grey.

"Here's your chance Hinata" came Shino's voice.

"Shino-kun?" Hinata looked confused.

"With the rain it will send the bugs to exert heat signals. Your Byakugan should be able to pick up even the smallest of insects now" Shino explained.

Realization dawned on her as she watched Naruto jump from one tree to another. 'Arigato Shino-kun' and with that she put her fingers in the hand sign to activate the Byakugan.

'Naruto-kun, if you won't give up looking then neither will I', "Byakugan!" Hinata began to focus her chakra in focusing on the smaller insects around her. 'More, need more concentration' she continued to focus until she could see each small insect around them. 'Left, up, down, further ahead, right, Ah!' She had spotted it, "Naruto-kun it's up the tree near you on the left" she yelled out.

Naruto turned his head where she yelled out, and saw what they were searching for; the Bikochu. He jumped up, only for it to begin flying away.

"Oh no you don't, get back here" and with that Naruto began jumping to every tree near the Bikochu until he got it in his hands.

"Whoohoo, good job Naruto, that was a close call too" Kiba came up to him.

'Thank goodness' Hinata thought.

"Now we just have to wait for the morning for the egg to hatch" Shino said.

"Yatta, Hinata, it's all thanks to you" Naruto said as he put his hands on her shoulders, turning her towards him, then hugging her as he rubbed his cheek on her. The other two just tensed for what her reaction would be.

'N-Na-Naruto-k-ku-kun, h-he-he's' Hinata couldn't finish that thought as her face kept getting redder and redder.

"Perhaps it's best to get ourselves cleaned up. Hinata, you can go first while we watch the Bikochu" Shino said giving her an escape.

"H-ha-hai!" She squeaked and rushed to the lake.

"We should secure the Bikochu in a good hiding place, then pick it up in the morning just when it's about to hatch. I'll hide it while you two hold down the fort" Shino said as he began to walk to thought out location.

In all of their excitement, they didn't notice the three hiding suspects heading over to the moving water.

* * *

Hinata was just splashing water on her face before removing her baggy coat.

'Naruto-kun, he had his face touching mine all of a sudden' she thought with both hands placed on her face; she couldn't help but blush at the thought.

Suddenly, she heard sound approaching her way. Focusing chakra in her hand, Hinata repelled the Kunai aimed at her.

"Oh, so you were able to repel that attack" a man's sound came.

Turning her head she saw three Iwagakure shinobi approaching her.

"Not bad for a genin" The other man said.

'These are the shinobi who have been watching us the whole time' Hinata thought as she held a kunai in front of her.

"But will you be able to avoid this attack; Ninja technique: hachi mitsu no jutsu!" The female of the group yelled out.

"Bees?" A bunch of bees began flying in her direction as she jumped back and tried to defend herself.

As she slashed at them, a bunch of sticky, orange goo began to come out, and stuck itself onto her body.

'This is.'

"I see you've realized it. That's nectar; once it latches onto you it hardens and becomes like glue."

Hinata's movements were starting to get slower as the nectar began to harden.

'No good, I used up all of my chakra earlier' she thought.

A stinging feeling was felt on her neck, looking down, she saw a bee there.

"That's a real bee"

Hinata's vision slowly blurred as she began to fall onto the ground.

'Naruto-kun' was her last thought as darkness came upon her.

* * *

"How is it Akumaru" Kiba asked his dog partner.

"Arf" was his response.

"I see. I can't seem to sense those three earlier. I thought they were plotting something, but no sign at all."

"Perhaps we overlooked something" Shino said, turning his head towards where Naruto was sitting.

"Naruto, has Hinata not yet returned?" Shino asked.

"Nope, man why do girls take so long when it comes to bathing, I could use one myself" Naruto complained.

Kiba suddenly noticed a sparkle up front, and quickly ran and pushed Naruto to the ground. A kunai landed on the tree.

"A note?" Shino unraveled the small parchment and began to read the details.

"We have your female comrade captured. If you wish for her safety, we'll trade her for the Bikochu. We will be waiting on the eastern hill tonight."

"Damn it. They planned to use us all along" Kiba cursed.

"Hinata" Naruto said curling his hand into a fist.

"Let's proceed to meet them, that way we'll know what were up against and decide from then on what to do" Shino said. The two nodded and all three started running.

"But why would they kidnap Hinata, and how did they know what we were looking for?" Naruto asked.

"We've been watched the whole time since we've been here" Kiba answered.

"What? You guys noticed? Naruto sounded surprised.

"You were the only one who didn't know" Shino said.

"Then why didn't you guys tell me?" Naruto started to yell.

"If we had told you, you would have started screaming" Kiba shot back, "the bugs…the bugs would have run away then, including the Bikochu." Akumaru barked in agreement.

"Okay fine, let's just hurry" Naruto grudgingly agreed as he sped up.

They reached a location where Hinata's scent was last found.

"If they forcefully tried to take the Bikochu from us, there would have been a risk that they could harm it. Therefore, by capturing Hinata, They've changed this into a hostage exchange situation. It's a smart move" Shino explained.

Something caught up to Naruto's nose, and he sniffed the scent in, "I smell something sweet."

Kiba gave a sniff of his own, "Smells like honey."

"It's bee honey" Shino explained.

"Honey?" Naruto looked confused.

"Hinata's scent died here" Kiba said.

"In that case." Shino's bugs started coming out of his jacket, and spreading in search of Hinata.

"All we can do now is waiting and see what my bugs come up with" Kiba slouched down.

'Hinata, please wait, were on our way to help' Naruto thought.

* * *

The drowsiness was beginning to wear off as she heard and felt something unusual, 'Water splashing, and moving, and pulling, and it's on my face' her eyes shot open to see that she was indeed in a river, which if it were to carry her, would take her to a waterfall. Her entire body and mouth was covered in nectar.

"I see you've finally woken up" the voice of one of the men said, "were on our way to meet your comrades. If you don't move an inch, you'll remain in the same position. If everything turns up the way things should, then you and your team will be together soon. Don't move now" and with that he left.

'Oh no, if things turn up the way they want then Naruto-kun won't be able to track down Sasuke-kun' Hinata thought as she started to move in order to free herself from the wax. It was sealed tight, and the piece of string that was holding her from being carried away snapped off. The current was fast; hitting her through the rocks, fortunately, the nectar prevented her from being injured.

'I've got to focus my chakra to break free from here' she began to channel her chakra, and bits and cracks began opening.

'Not fast enough, at this rate I'll be carried off the waterfall' she sadly thought, closing her eyes as Naruto's face came to her mind.

"_I don't quit or go back on my word. That's my Nindo, my ninja way."_

She opened her eyes, 'that's right, never quitting or going back on one's word is my nindo as well, how can I quit' and with that thought, she continued to focus her chakra, gradually cutting the hardened nectar around her.

The water had finally carried her over the waterfall, and with one last push she finally broke free of the nectar, grabbing the nearby rock to prevent herself from falling over.

'I did it, and it was because I didn't give up' pulling herself up, she began heading towards where she last saw the Iwagakure ninja.

'Naruto-kun, everyone, this time I'll be the one who saves you'.

* * *

I think I was just a little bit lazy to add extra stuff this week besides the cannon stuff.

I'll make sure there's more of a difference in the next chapter.

On another note, what's with everyone ignoring the poll. It's to help who to pair up in the story later on, if there's no progress by the time I finally reach to pairing people, I'll decide it on my own, :(

Cheers guys.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone

Here's the next chapter

for those who saw the fillers, you'll be able to tell certain differences between this one and them.

I tried to make Naruto look less of an idiot since I didn't like how sometimes he was so immature and sometimes he was so serious. so inconsistent.

He's still an idiot, but not by much.

Anyways enjoy, and let me know if i missed anything or somethings need correcting.

* * *

Chapter 9

"Did you find anything out about where Hinata is?" Naruto asked. They had been walking for a good two hours now, and just, suddenly, Shino's bug came back to him.

"It's no good. The other bugs were probably killed by their bees" Shino said.

"Damn it. Then we have no choice but to humbly comply with the exchange" Kiba said, looking pissed off.

"And right when we found it too" Naruto said gloomy.

"Then, do you want to abandon Hinata?" Shino asked.

Taken aback, Naruto responded without hesitation, "We can't do that. No matter what happens, I _won't _abandon her. Those who abandon their comrades are trash."

Smiling, Kiba just nodded, "Right on" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"We'll just find another way to find Sasuke; Hinata is more important" Naruto continued.

"However, will Hinata be happy with that?" Shino asked as he looked at the sky.

Naruto had a confused looked on his face.

"This mission was proposed by Hinata. It's true that I was the one who told her about the Bikochu, but the possibility of finding it is extremely low. Hinata, however, didn't give up. Even if there was a slight chance, she strongly requested that we give it a try" Shino explained.

"Hinata did?" Naruto couldn't help but feel astonished.

"She was really intense then, so even Shino and I agreed to do it" Kiba said.

"This is the first time that Hinata has desired for a mission. Therefore, we want this mission to succeed for her" Shino looked at the two of them and nodded.

"There will be one place where Hinata will show herself, it will be our one chance" Shino said.

"The exchange location" both Kiba and Naruto said at the same time. They all agreed and proceeded to the location.

'Hinata, hold on, we won't abandon you no matter what' Naruto promised.

* * *

All three of them approached the location, where the three Kamizuru Clan members were.

"Give us Hinata" Naruto yelled.

"Confirmation first, place the Bikochu on that rock" the women of the group said, holding Hinata.

Shino walked up to the rock and placed the small container, while the big bee user approached to confirm it. He stared at bug for a long minute, "what is the meaning of this? You mock our clan" he threw the container to the ground, smashing it.

The bug flew up in the air, and the henge got canceled, "A beetle?"

The man rushed up to Shino, but Shino just held a kunai to his neck.

"Now Shino" Naruto yelled, revealing another Shino approaching from behind, attacking with his bugs as another Kiba got Hinata, "rescue mission: Success"

The Shino with the kunai suddenly popped, and Naruto ran up to the man and punched him in the face, throwing him back with his comrades.

"It's over for you guys" Shino attacked them with his bugs.

Suddenly, all three of them, including Hinata, turned into wax, and the bees started appearing.

"Damn there's too many of them, and whenever I slash at one, honey comes out" Naruto complained as he kept slashing.

"Wait, don't move" Shino ran up to the bee that was in front of Naruto and slashed at it, "This bee is real. Its stinger is poison. Looks like some of these bees are a mix of summons and real ones."

"I can't tell the real ones apart, what are we supposed to do?" Naruto asked as he kept slashing.

"Naruto, Kiba, cover me" Shino began producing a huge amount of his bugs, creating them to spin around and kill the rest of the bees.

"Not bad for a genin, but had you given the Bikochu up, everything would have been a simple trade. But your smart, you wouldn't dare bring it to a battle field, so were just going to eliminate you and look for it ourselves" another heard of bees was sent towards them.

"Boring technique" Kiba said as Shino brought his rotating bugs again.

Naruto looked outside of the rotation and noticed something that made him pale, "Shino, Explosive tags!" The three of them jumped out before they got hit with the explosion, and fell through the trees.

"Bug clone justu" Shino created three look alike while the three originals ran.

"Damn, that didn't work so well, now what" Kiba asked.

"The Bikochu will be safe where I left it. For now, Hinata is our top priority" Shino said.

"Right" Naruto agreed and the three sped up in search of their comrade.

* * *

Akamaru was sniffing the ground as Shino picked up one of the pieces of his fallen bugs, "no doubt about it" he looks up at the dome in front of them.

"It's here" Kiba continued.

Getting anxious, Naruto quickly ran inside, "Hinata! Where are you?"

"Hey. Be careful. I don't sense their presence, but it could be a trap" Kiba yelled after Naruto.

Akamaru ran forward in front of the hexagon shapes, and begun barking.

"Is she there?" Naruto ran to where Akamaru was barking at, "Hinata" he began to rip the thin layers covering the hexagon.

He heard a sound, and saw what was in front of him; Hinata, covered from her mouth to her toes in honey wax, "Hintata" he begun to pull her out of the small confining area.

"Are you okay Hinata? We'll get you out of that now" both Kiba and Naruto got there kunai's out and began, carefully, to break the hardened honey.

"All right we got it all off" Naruto proclaimed.

"Naruto-kun" Hinata started to say, with tears in her eyes and had a blush on her face, "Thank you" she gave him a big hug, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"H-Hinata?" Naruto appeared surprised; Hinata never acted so bold like this. Actually, something felt very off about her. 'Hang on a sec', "Shino" Naruto gave him a look that said 'somethings off'. Shino threw the Kunai where Hinata was, and she let go to avoid it.

"Who are you?" Shino asked.

"Now that you mention it, I smell two scents" Kiba said, with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Naruto-kun. It's me" Hinata said, looking away.

"I don't believe you. Hinata always appears to act weird around me for some reason, but what gave you away were your eyes; hers look innocent and honest. Yours has that hard appearance in it with experience" Naruto explained.

"Believe me" she looked at Naruto with teary eyes.

"Then, let's see what you were trying to put on Naruto's back" Shino grabbed her hand and shook it until an explosive tag fell out of her hand.

"An explosive tag" Naruto said.

"Were you planning on blowing up Naruto" Kiba asked, getting into a stance.

Hinata suddenly began to laugh, and then her appearance changed from Hinata to the women from before.

"I thought that it'd go well" she said; Hinata's jacket fell off of her shoulders.

"You're….I see. The ones at the hill were replicas" Shino confirmed.

"So by wearing Hinata's clothing, you deceived the scent" Kiba figured out.

"Where is the real Hinata?" Naruto angrily spoke, lifting his kunai in front of him.

"Who knows? I wonder where" She taunted, "hehe, you guys are nothing but summer flies flying in fire", everywhere was a surrounding of explosive tags, "If you're lucky, then let's meet again" and with that all the tags exploded, making a crater in the ground where all three of them fell downwards.

* * *

While they were falling, Kiba began to focus chakra into his hands, and grabbed the walls to prevent himself from falling further. Both Shino and Naruto grabbed onto each of his legs.

"Ahhh, hey guys, let go" Kiba was feeling the pressure on his hand increasing.

"We have nowhere else to grab, endure it for now while we look around" Shino explained, as he became aware of his surroundings.

"Ahhh, that's a massive army of bee eggs" Naruto yelled out.

"This is a bee hive" Shino explained, "But why are they so ridiculously big?"

"Okay, let's do this Akamaru" Kiba flipped over, causing Shino and Naruto to let go, "Gatsuuga!" they created a hole on the side wall.

Once they all landed, another appearance made its way; larva's.

"How many are there?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Kiba?" Shino sounded worried.

"I can't release any more power, it's like my body is….." Kiba was panting heavily.

"Could it be…" Shino began.

"It seems like my chakra is being absorbed" Naruto concluded; his legs were beginning to give out.

"Summoning justu" a sound could be heard from above.

"Either continue to be food for the larva's, or become prey for the queen, you choose?" It sounded like it was coming from above.

They were in a tight spot.

Kiba suddenly collapsed, and then Naruto followed shortly after.

Shino threw a shuriken onto the queen's face; it bounced off.

"Haha, something like that won't work" and her summon sprayed the nectar downwards.

It covered the entire underground. 'Now all it will take is time' Shino thought as everything went dark.

* * *

Voices could be heard, slowly awakening Shino.

"Oh. You caught them?" one of them said.

"They're a bunch of morons. They made her angry" the women voice said.

"So they got encased by her wax? Bees release honey, you know?" the other one gloated, "You're a bug user. You didn't even know that?"

"So where is it?" The women asked.

"It's no use. I had all the bees fly around to search for it, but they can't find it" It sounded like the third person of the party.

"I bet these guys have it"

"I don't think so."

"That means…"

"We have no choice but to ask these guys."

At this point Shino had fully woken up, and decided to control the state of the conversation.

"I can tell you; however, we will only exchange it for Hinata"

"Are you stupid? An Exchange?" the women said.

"I don't think you realize your position here" the man with blode hair said.

"There is no way you guys can find the Bikochu. Time is running out. It is you who will regret this" Shino said with a calm voice.

By this point Naruto had stirred, "Hinata" he mumbled. The three bee users seemed to be discussing something.

"Naruto, trust me and let me handle the situation, you'll know when to make a move" Shino said.

Naruto had fully awoken to see the situation at hand; he was covered in the wax. Turning his head to the side, he saw that Kiba and Shino were as well. He didn't seem to have a plan so he decided to take his word for it.

"Okay Shino, you're in charge, I'll keep quiet. But, are you planning giving up?" Naruto whispered.

Shino just made a shake of his head indicating no.

"Saving Hinata?" He whispered again.

Shino nodded indicating yes.

With a nod of his own, he looked towards the three huddling.

"Hinata…." Naruto said with a quiet voice.

"Are you worried?" Shino asked.

"Of course I am." Naruto shot back.

"She's strong. She's much stronger. Than you think" Shino said.

Naruto had a look of astonishment on his face at that statement as the footsteps came closer to them.

"Okay. The negotiations have been completed." Each one of them were picked up and carried.

* * *

The sound of water could be heard as they kept on the move.

Suddenly, the one carrying Naruto dropped him, and ran up to the stream.

"What's wrong?" The female asked.

"The girl is gone! The wax that held her is gone. She most likely was carried away by the waterfall" He responded back.

Naruto froze when he heard that, his eyes slowly turning to slits.

"It couldn't be helped, I told her if she made any stupid moves, she would be carried away by the water" he said frustrated.

"Bastard, what did you do to Hinata?!" Naruto slowly began to inch towards them the way a worm would.

"Shut up kid. That girl is probably at the bottom of hell by now."

"What did you say, ouf" The man stepped on his head to shut him up.

"Could that girl be your girlfriend?" He mocked.

"Teme" Naruto's eyes were slowly changing.

His head was stomped on again and again.

"So what will you do, boy? Although her death was not part of the plan, will you let your comrades die, or will you tell us where the Bikochu is? That way, we could spare your lives."

'I still need more time' Shino mentally cursed.

"You better not tell them!" Naruto growled out. All of them turned towards him, "I'm going to beat these assholes up!" Naruto was slowly starting to push upwards from the guy's foot.

The man looked pissed at that, "Shut up, you brat!" he stomped as hard as he could, but, when he saw Naruto's eyes, he jumped back; they looked bloodthirsty red.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Both of the bee users asked, looking surprised.

Shaking, he got his kunai out, "Shut up, I've got to kill him" and he began charging, ready to kill Naruto with the kunai.

Suddenly, a kunai flew in front of him. When he looked down, he saw an explosive tag connected to it.

All three of them jumped back, waiting for the smoke to clear. Once it cleared up, what they saw left them jaw slack; the girl they thought that had been killed by the waterfall was standing in front of her bee waxed comrades.

Hinata had returned, and this time she is going to be the one to fight.

* * *

And done

I thought I'd finally be finishing the Bikochu Arc in this chapter, but I guess the next one will complete it and I can get back to the other characters as well.

On another note, I've started a new story called "Unwavering Heart" It just came to me and I wanted to try it. Every Friday will be it's posting.

Cheers


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone

Here's the next chapter, and finally the last arc of the Bikochu.

There's also a bit of Naruhina closeness in this story, so I hope for those who have been on wit's end for some you'll like.

* * *

Chapter 10

Naruto tried to get up and break free from the wax, but he couldn't; it was too hardened.

"Leave this to me" Hinata said. She sounded different from the Hinata he was use to; she sounded confident and fearless. Surprised, Naruto set his focus on her.

"Hinata!" Shino said in a voice she knew too well.

She nodded, and began to observe her opponents. 'I haven't used that in actual combat yet, but, I must use it now!'

"Hachi bakudan no justu!" The blond haired bee user cried out, sending his wasps.

"Hachi senbon no jutsu!" The bulky bee user cried out, sending the bees with stingers.

"Hachi mitsu no jutsu!" The female bee user cried out, sending the ones filled with honey.

All three types of bees had begun to surround Hinata. They were flying all around leaving her with nowhere to escape. She slowly began to bring her two fingers to her front. 'Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun. Watch me.' Getting into her new Huyga stance, she unleashed her newest technique, "Shugo hake rokujuu yon shou!" Her hands began attacking the bees at an alarmingly fast rate.

"Nani?" The three yelled out in surprise. Not a single one of their bees were able to get near and touch her.

Naruto felt surprised at what he was seeing; this was different from the Hinata he had met back at the chunin exams, "You're kidding me…That Hinata….can use such an amazing technique."

"The Hinata that you remember…is from when?" Shino suddenly asked.

Turning his head, he looked at Shino questioningly, "what do you mean?"

"After the Chunin exams, you learned a new technique, right? Hinata had also been working on one as well; she is steadily developing" Shino explained.

Understanding, Naruto turned his head back to where Hinata was now killing all of the bees that were coming at her.

"She's been hesitating for a long time", Shino continued, "Through her strict training, she made her own style and developed her own technique. That is the result of her training. Due to her training, her chakra control has improved considerably. What helped her to achieve it is that technique. Shugo hakke rokujuu yon shou. By combining the flexible body that she already has, with the precise control of her chakra, she completely protects herself from attacks in all directions. It's an absolute protection technique. It's different from Neji's Hakke shou kaiten. This is Hinata's technique alone. She was finally able to acquire that technique on her own. It was most likely created so that she would be acknowledged by her father, so that everyone would acknowledge her, and to be acknowledged by you."

He was so immersed in Hinatas movements that he felt as if he had seen that sort of movement before, like dancing. 'Why does her technique seem so familiar, even though it's the first time seeing it?' As Naruto was thinking about it, a breaking sound broke him out of his thoughts. Turning his head back towards the sound, he was surprised to see Shino standing and out of the honey hardened wax.

"How?!" Naruto couldn't keep the bewilderment out of his voice.

"Because you trusted me, my plan worked; angering the queen bee and getting encased by the wax, were both according to my plan. That was the only way for us to be saved from the larva absorbing our chakra to the point where we couldn't move. Besides, I was ordering the bugs; it turns out that the wax that trapped us is hollow."

Naruto tested his own wax, and it turned out that Shino was right; because of his bugs, the wax was fairly easy to break through. Getting up, he saw Shino help Kiba get out of his bindings. Kiba slowly regained his consciousness.

After getting up, Naruto kept his eyes on Hinata the whole time; he couldn't stop watching her. Her movements were so precise, so fluid, and so rhythmical. He couldn't help but feel awed despite the situation they were in. 'Hinata, your amazing' was the only thing he could think of while he watched her.

"None of our attacks are working on her, just what is that technique?" The blond one yelled out.

"Man, what a girl…Wait! When did those guys break free?" The bulky one screamed in shock.

Getting frustrated; the female of the group bit her finger, and smeared it on her gloved palm. She slammed her gloved hand onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no justu!" she yelled out, summoning her queen bee onto to the field.

Startled, Hinata turned to see the queen bee staring her down.

"Blow her away" the queen's master commanded. Flying towards Hinata, the queen unleashed the honey wax at her. Hinata, however, kept up her technique, causing the wax to circle around her like a dome. The queen just flew directly at it, sending Hinata flying.

"Aaaah!" She screamed as she rolled onto the ground.

"Hinata" Naruto was about to run to her, but felt someone grab his arm. Looking behind him, it was Shino preventing him from going, "Shino?"

"Trust…Her." Shino said as he let go of Naruto.

Turning his head back, he saw Hinata getting up as she wiped the blood of her lips off with the back of her hand; her face looked determined.

The queen was starting to head back at Hinata's location in order to finish the job.

'Chakra…Sharper…Stronger…Larger….More flexible!' It was flying closer now, 'More…More…More…More…More…..More!' Her justu was getting bigger; bigger than before. The queen just couldn't break through and land back at her master, who was with her group, sending them into the lake.

Hinata had done it; she saved everyone this time.

Exhausted, she was barley standing up, "Hinata!" Naruto called out as he caught her from collapsing onto the ground, slowly lowering her down in his arms.

"Hinata" Naruto called out, hoping she was still conscious.

"Naruto-kun…?" Hinata lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Hinata, that technique was amazing. _You're_ really amazing" Naruto said. The grin on his face was so wide that it looked like it would split in half.

Hinata had a light blush sporting her face; she couldn't help but smile, feeling warmth from the praise he gave her, "Naruto-kun" she brought her head to the side of his left beicep, resting it there, the smile never leaving her face.

"Let's hurry. It's almost dawn" Shino said now that the battle had finished.

"Hai!" All three of them said at once.

* * *

They quickly made haste back to the location where the Bikochu was being hidden; once they got there, they saw that the egg had changed.

"It became a pupa" Naruto said.

"All we have to do is go back and get it to smell Sasuke's belongings, then its mission complete" Kiba said, sounding excited.

They were all eager for it to hatch.

"Impossible" a voice said. Turning their heads, they saw that it was the female bee user, looking ragged, "Inside a tree? The bees should've been able to find it right away."

"You're still able to move?" Kiba asked, looking startled.

"I put the Aburame clan's secret bug repellant on this bug cage. Due to the bug repellant, the bees wouldn't come near here. As long as you guys used the bees to find this, there was no way you could've found it" Shino explained.

She began to quietly laugh at that, "impressive as usual. As long as your clan is around, it was our fate to be destroyed. But…" she suddenly jumped up and landed on her bee that had come from the sky, "I will _not _let your mission succeed!" she said. She started flying towards them.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu" Naruto said, making his favourite hand sign. A shadow clone popped right next to him.

"This thing here is our hope", Naruto began rotating the chakra in his hand, while his clone helped it turn to shape, "in order to get our comrade back!" It had become the fouth's hokage strongest technique; the Rasengan, "we won't let you have it" Naruto slammed the Rasengan onto the queens face, sending both the queen and the women flying far off.

"Hey look" Shino said, quickly grabbing everyone's attention. The pupa was starting to hatch out of its shell.

"Alright" Naruto said as he brought Sasuke's headband up in front of it.

Once hatched, it immediately smelled the headband. All four of them waited anxiously on its next movement, standing afar. The bug began to fly up into the air, landing on Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"What?" Kiba said.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata sounded worried.

"Could it be…?" Shino appeared to be thinking.

All four of them looked at the headband, then back at the Bikochu; they started to slowly put the pieces together, causing them to go pale.

"Nani? Why does it have my scent instead of Sasuke's?" Naruto couldn't believe what was happening.

"The most plausible reason could be that you've been holding onto Sasuke's headband for so long that your scent got mixed with it. Naruto, was it raining on the day that Sasuke left?" Shino asked.

Naruto nodded, remembering that day as if it were yesterday.

"If that's the case, then most of his scent was washed off, replacing it with your own" Shino concluded.

"So…" Hinata began.

"You mean…" Kiba continued.

"That this mission is a failure!" Naruto finished.

All of them looked at the Bikochu one more time that was sitting on Naruto's shoulder, and they all sighed.

"Gomen, it looks like it's my fault" Naruto sounded gloomy.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata looked worried.

"Ah, it's okay. There's still three years until the snake-bastard tends to take over Sasukes body, just got to find him before that happens" Naruto stated, showing that this failure wasn't going to bring him down.

"Let us proceed back to Konoha. It just turned morning so we will be able to cover a lot of ground" Shino said.

They all nodded, packed their things, and left towards their home.

* * *

All of them were taking their time walking back, completely exhausted. None of them had the energy to speak. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Just because none of them were talking, though, didn't mean that they weren't thinking of miles ahead. Shino was thinking of what to write in the report of the mission, being the leader. Kiba was wondering what he was going to work on for his new technique. Naruto's thoughts were a bit more complicated as he was thinking about a certain someone. Staring at Hinata's back from behind, he couldn't shake the thoughts of her movements seeming so familiar to him. Another thing was how much stronger and determined she had gotten; she was still timid, shy, and tended to stutter, but, on the battle field, she showed how powerful she could be. 'It was the first time seeing her without her jacket as well' who would have thought that innocent, sweet Hinata was the most developed out of the rookie 12 kunoichi's. 'Wait…Bad Naruto; it's not right to think of Hinata like that! Damn you ero-senin', Naruto felt his face turning red from shame, and cursing the pervert from somehow influencing him on thinking those perverted thoughts in the first place.

Oblivious to his turmoil, Hinata felt both happy and pleased with the mission despite its failure; she was able to complete her own original justu and rescue her comrades; Naruto even said that she was amazing! The reason why she decided to stick with walking in front of everyone was so none of them could see the smile plastered on her face. It didn't even bother her that her father would be disappointed that the mission was a failure.

She took a quick peek behind her to see how her teammates were holding up. All three of them looked tired for the most part, but something caught her eye; Naruto was staring at her and looked a little red. Worried that maybe he had gotten a cold or something, she decided to ask, "Naruto-kun, did you by any chance catch a cold? Your face is a little red." All this did was make Naruto turn even redder.

"No! I'm perfectly fine, but that justsu, man I can't stop thinking of how you handled those three so easily." Naruto hesitated for a second, but continued his train of thought, and came closer so he could ask her without the two hearing them, "say Hinata…..when we reach Konoha…..could we meet up when you're not busy? There's an issue I've been having recently, and I think you could help me with it" Naruto whispered to her.

Hinata had started to turn red when he got closer to her, and it went a darker shade when she realized that he wanted to meet up with her alone for whatever issue it was that required him to whisper it in her ear. 'N-n-aruto-k-kun and I-I, alone' Hinata nodded before losing conscious.

"Ah, Hinata!" Naruto cried out, startled that she had collapsed on the ground.

"Seems like she fainted; well, it will be sunset soon, we shall rest here for the night. Naruto, please carry Hinata and place her near the rock by the lake. Kiba and I will set up camp" Shino said, taking his backpack off his back.

Nodding, Naruto removed his own bag, and went to pick up Hinata, bridle style, and approached the rock. As he tried to place Hinata on the ground, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, and nuzzled her head into his neck. Naruto was starting to turn red again as he worked hard to ignore the perverted thoughts, cursing the perverted senin once again. Not being able to get her off of him, he just sat on the ground, leaning his back on the rock, with Hinata in his arms.

Hesitantly, he looked at her face, where she now had her head resting on his shoulder; she seemed to be at ease. He just couldn't figure it out; he's the so called unpredictable ninja, but Hinata surprises him every time they meet. First with her willingness to help him back at the Chunin exams despite not being on the same team, then her determination to go against her cousin even though he was more skilled, and now she had beat three full grown ninjas with an original move of her own making despite being a ninja less than a year. 'She's rapidly growing; innocent Hinata is gaining more confidence in her. I wonder what's causing her to push forward' he decided to ask her when she woke up, and maybe see what kind of training she's been doing when they would meet later. Looking down at her serene face again, he couldn't help but feel a tug of a smile spreading to his face. The other two were looking, and just shook their heads of how dense Naruto was.

Naruto was so dense, that he himself didn't realise that he was slowly beginning to get interested in Hinata Huyga.

* * *

There we go, I'll probably be adding more characters back to the story now that this arc is completed

Also for the justus, I couldn't figure out their names in English, but if anyone finds it, please let me know

Cheers


	12. Chapter 12

Hi everyone

So I decided to write about what everyone else did for the couple of days that Naruto and team 8 were out of the village.

Once I start writing about them again, you'll know that the days are entwined again.

So maybe you won't expect Naruto and Team 8 for another chapter or two.

Enjoy guys

I don't Own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 11

Neji sat himself in a meditative state in order to work on his other senses. It was quiet and peaceful, the waterfall was constantly flowing, and birds were chirping. He emptied his mind of any thoughts and allowed himself to be as relaxed as possible. Quiet sound of nature, not a single-

"Neji-ni-san"

-person around. Neji opened his eyes to see his younger cousin running up to him.

"Hanabi-sama, to what do I owe this visit." Neji hardly ever talked to the younger heir of the family, but from the looks of it, she seemed to want to ask him something.

"Neji-ni-san, I have a favour to ask; could you accompany me to the academy grounds?" Hanabi asked nervously.

He raised his eyebrows at this; unlike Hinata, Hanabi was always more sure of herself and was never nervous of anything she did.

"May I ask why you wish for me to come instead of one of the other branch members? Is there something you do not wish for your father to know?"

Hanabi looked like she was contemplating on something before answering, "….I don't have any friends Neji-ni-san. Yesterday I met someone, and I really want to be friends with him, but Tou-san doesn't let me out on my own. I don't know how Tou-san would act if he knew so I just want to keep it a secret for now."

Neji took a closer look at Hanabi; with how she trains and taught to have proper elegance, sometimes he forgets that she's only eight years old and still just a kid. With a sigh, he got up, and began heading towards the gate.

He paused, and then looked over his shoulder when he realized that she wasn't following, "What's the holdup Hanabi-sama. Unless you've changed your mind, I'm fine with heading out now."

She looked surprised for a second, then beamed at him and ran to his side.

As they proceeded towards their destination, Neji couldn't help thinking that perhaps she and Hinata were more alike than what meets the eye.

* * *

"Konohamaru, stop staring into space and pay attention when we kick the ball to you" Moegi yelled from across.

Konohamaru snapped out of what he was thinking about, and looked at the object next to his foot; a kicking ball.

"Demo, sorry Moegi, I'm a bit distracted. Let Udon kick the ball with you for now until my thoughts are cleared up" Konohamaru just waved as he sat on the swing near his two friends. Udon had taken his place, and began kicking the ball back and forth with Moegi.

It's not like he didn't want to play, on the contrary he loved it, but his thoughts were focused on the previous day. He had invited someone new to hang out with him, and he was not sure why he did it. At first he thought it was so she would feel better, but that was not his style to take pity on anyone; he personally hated it when people took pity on him. He kept on thinking about it until he came up with one conclusion; she hadn't known that he was the grandson of the third hokage; therefore, she didn't treat him the same way as most of the villagers did.

'It's still amazing that she didn't realize who I was, even after I stated my full name, but perhaps that is for the best. I wonder if she'll show up today' Konohamaru had been looking around every couple of minutes, seeing if she would show up. He kept cursing himself for not being specific on what time he was coming to the academy.

"Konohamaru, I'm getting tired, please play with Moegi" Udon pleaded to him.

Sighing, he got up and took Udon's place, facing Moegi, 'Oh well, I'll ask Naruto-ni-san about her. He might be able to help me find her later' Konohamaru thought as he kicked the ball back to Moegi.

* * *

Hanabi walked next to Neji, in proper form of a huyga, but on the inside she wanted to skip. It was her first time having a friend, and she was excited. His family name wasn't really familiar with her, there were too many families to remember in the village, but she didn't care; he didn't treat her the way most of the villagers would treat the heir of the main family, and that was fine with her. She at first loved it when people would bow and show formal respect, but when she realized that they didn't really see her, but as the clan heir, she began to act coldly towards them so they could act differently around her; it didn't work.

She looked next to her and saw Neji doing the same thing; his eyebrows were raised.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Hanabi was a little unnerved by the smirk that was growing on her cousin's face.

"Nothing, but this friend of yours, what's their name? If I am going to be part of this secret, then it would be best for me to know in order to cover anything in the future" Neji explained.

Smiling, I told him, "His name is Konohamaru Sarutobi. He said to meet him at the academy grounds if I wanted to hang out with him today."

A surprised look appeared on Neji's face for a second, but then it returned to its neutral look.

"I see. I shall take you there, and then set a time when to pick you up. Should your father inquire about today, I can state that we went to a training ground to train. I recommend telling your father about your new friend as soon as possible. Surly he wouldn't prohibit you from enjoying some time with those of your own age" Neji said.

Hanabi looked down at that; she wasn't too sure if her father really would allow her to have fun with kids her own age that wasn't part of the huyga clan.

"We are here" Neji announced. She looked up and found the person that had helped her yesterday. Nerves were starting to fill her when she saw two others with him, but she stomped on it and made her arrival apparent, "Konohamaru-kun"

The person she called to have turned around and smiled upon seeing her; she could feel the nerves again trying to take over.

"Glad you could make it Hanabi-chan"

* * *

"Glad you could make it Hanabi-chan" and he really was. He loved his two friends that always hung out with him, but he wanted to make more the way Naruto-ni-san did; plus, he personally wanted to get to know Hanabi better.

Looking at the person next to her, he recognized him as the one who fought at the chuin exams against Naruto-ni-san.

"Konohamaru, who is it?" Moegi asked. Udon had gotten up and joined the group.

"Udon, Moegi, meet Hanabi-chan. We met yesterday and I invited her to play with us today. Hanabi-chan, meet Moegi and Udon; they are my best friends at the academy" Konohamaru introduced them to each other.

Neji looked at the four, and declared his departure, "Hanabi-sama, I shall take my leave for now, at 5 I shall return" with that he left.

Hanabi looked at the two Konohamaru introduced to her: The girl named Moegi wore goggles on her forehead. She has orange hair tied up, with red elastics, in two pigtails. There seemed to be a permanent blush on her face. Her clothing consisted of a red tank-top over a pink t-shirt layered at the bottom; the pants she was wearing were grey and shoes were ninja sandals.

The boy named Udon had short brown hair and dark eyes. He seemed to have a running nose by the drip of snot hanging. He wore circular glasses. His outfit consisted of a simple blue shirt, which was zipped up in the middle, a pair of brown pants, sandals, and was also wearing a pair of goggles on his forehead.

Both Moegi and Udon smiled at her, "It's a pleasure to meet you Hanabi- chan. We were just playing ball, or was trying to, but this lazy one here was dazing off into space" Moegi said as she pointed her thumb in the direction of Konohamaru.

"Hey, I was just thinking a lot is all" Konohamaru complained.

"Since when do you think much?"

"Plenty of times"

"I bet I can count how much that was on one hand"

"Bet you can't"

* * *

Hanabi just watched the argument between the two in amazement; her father would throw a fit if she ever talked back to him, and her sister was too timid to talk back. 'Is this how friends act towards each other?' Hanabi thought.

"Don't worry about those two Hanabi-san, that's just how they are. It will stop after a few minutes, but in the meantime, would you like to kick the ball with me?" Udon asked her with uncertainty.

She just smiled, "Sure, I haven't played before" and she waited for him to kick the ball towards her while the other two continued to argue.

* * *

After leaving Hanabi with the three academy students, Neji took a stroll around the village. He wondered how Hinata was on that mission she was sent on. Her reflexes had surprised him. 'I wonder if Hinata-sama is proceeding smoothly, perhaps that would lessen the stares and whispers coming from everyone else in the clan' it was becoming more apparent with the whispers of the clan how he was able to talk freely and on friendly terms with the head and heir, more than what a branch member should. Ever since his talk and defeat at the hands of Naruto, he began to open his eyes and notice how much stronger his cousin was than his original thought at first. He was more surprised at how despite the undeserved hatred she had received from him; she still had the heart to forgive him. That made him feels a little overprotective of her, and presumed her training where her father stopped training her. It also gave him hope that if Hinata were to succeed as the head instead of Hanabi, perhaps the clan would be able to change for the better.

"Hey Neji, wait up" turning his head around, he saw Tenten running up to him.

"Hey Neji, what doing around here, I was about to go grab some lunch, what to join me?" Tenten asked.

Neji hadn't realized that he hadn't eaten before meditating earlier today, and suddenly became aware of his hunger at that moment.

"I haven't eaten yet, so I will join you, where shall we eat?" Neji asked.

Smiling, she pointed to her left, "There's a café not too far from here. If we hurry, we might be able to catch the lunch special" she began to head in the direction where she pointed to. Neji just followed her, deciding to put his thoughts of Hinata and the clan aside for the company of his teammate.

* * *

Sakura had dragged herself to the hospital, with the flower of friendship in her hands. It had been sometime since she actually had the chance to converse with Lee properly, and she wondered if she should take Ino's advice on helping his rehab.

'I think he should be fine. Lee's not the type to cause trouble.' Smiling at something so ridiculous, she slowly walked towards Lee's room. She was about to knock, when she heard yelling behind the door.

"Get back to bed"

"But, my youth is slowly disappearing with the lack of exercise"

"Your youth won't even continue if you don't follow the proper routine of recovery"

"Please, just another 300 push-ups, then I'll return"

"Argg"

It sounded like someone threw something against the wall, and smashed it.

Becoming worried, Sakura opened the door, and stared wide eye at the scene: Lee was knocked out; the bump on his head was from the broken chair on the ground. A nurse was panting, looking like she just wanted to kill her client.

"What's going on here?" Sakura finally was able to find her voice.

"Ah, Sakura-san, I just can't take it anymore. Out of all my patients, I have never had one so completely disobedient. I am going to have to request to Lady Hokage that he must be transferred to someone else for his treatment. I will soon lose it to the point of killing him" she looked like she wanted to pull her hair out.

'Is it that bad? Well, I wasn't going to take Ino's words seriously, but since an opportunity has arrived' Sakura almost felt bad about what she was going to do, but she did know the affection Lee held for her, and while she cared a great deal for him, it wasn't the same way.

"Why don't you suggest to Hokage-sama to have him transferred to me; I'm a friend of his, so perhaps he might be more obedient in listening to me"

The nurse looked surprised at first, then beamed at her, "Thank you Sakura-san, you're seriously doing me a great service at taking him from my care. I'll inform lady Hokage right away" and she ran out the door.

Sighing, Sakura turned towards the unconscious figure on the floor. She walked towards him, and helped him onto the bed; all the while he stayed unconscious. Even if she was doing it for her own reasons, it still made sense for her to be the one to help him as he tried to help her back in the forest of death.

'Sorry Lee, but there are times when only rest will be able to make you strong again' She placed the flower in the vase, and started to clean up the broken chair at the corner of Lee's room.

She only hoped that Lee would listen to her as Ino suggested, otherwise, she would be in for a long few months of rehab with him.

* * *

And that's a wrap

I hope I am not boring anyone with the progress of the story, It is called 'Slowly getting there' after all.

I also think I have the majority of Couples figured out, but again it won't happen yet as they are only preteens

Cheers


	13. Chapter 13

hey guys

Sorry for being late with this chapter, Canada day means busy time with family.

So here's the next part, still showing the other characters, and trying build on a certain character since his parents background was never described in the actual canon

Enjoy

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 12

Lee is one of the most skillful taijustu leaf shinobi out there, next to his sensei. Because he cannot use ninjustu or genjustu, he's been training his body vigorously to the point where he has gotten addicted to the endorphins that are realised during a rigorous training session. The fact that after his match with Gaara had practically crippled him, he could not workout without the doctors from interrupting every time. Even now, after the surgery, he still required rehab to fully get his muscles to where they once were without tearing them apart; it was frustrating!

Opening his eyes, Lee squinted, using one of his arms to cover his eyes from the light.

"Oh, Lee! I see you're finally awake" said a familiar voice. Turing his head, he saw that it was Sakura sitting on a chair on his left.

"Sakura-san?" Lee asked.

"Hey, I brought you a flower for your vase. I came when you and the nurse were arguing, before she smashed a chair on your head, knocking you unconscious" Sakura explained.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that unyouthful display. I was simply doing some light training, but the nurse wouldn't let me continue and-

"I know Lee, which is why I think I have an idea; I'll take over your rehab so I can get you out of here sooner. Please listen to what I say on what you can do and what you can't do okay? You can still train, but when I tell you what the limit is, please stop. You'll never get out of here if you don't follow the rehab regulations" Sakura explained.

Lee's eyes lightened up at the prospect of Sakura taking over his rehab. He'll be able to spend time with his blossoming flower! Lee jumped up and grabbed Sakura's hands, "yosh, I'll listen to every word of wisdom you have to offer me in order to recover faster. If I fail then I shall do 500 pushups, and if I can do that then I'll-

"Don't worry about it Lee, I get it. You'll get out of this hospital faster with me taking over, and once you're out, I'll spar with you in order to get your taijustu back to how it was before" Sakura interrupted before Lee could go into his full workout speech of failing.

Smiling until his teeth shined, he strikes a thumb up pose, "yosh, kami is truly on my side to have you come to my rescue Sakura-san, I look forward to our sessions. When shall we begin?"

"Well that has yet-

"Sakura, may I have a word with you please?" a voice sounding near the door said. Turning her head, she saw that Tsunade was at the door.

"Hai, I'll see you later Lee" Sakura got up and went to follow her mentor.

After the door closed, Lee looked out the window, with one thought in mind; Sakura was truly his guardian angel sent from Kami.

* * *

"Sakura, I had one of my nurses bursting into my office requesting, what would be the 3rd time, of having Lee transferred to another nurse. I was about to say no since it would require a great deal of paperwork, when she mentioned you. Technically, you're not yet that qualified to do such a thing, but she said you were the one who requested it" Tsunade said after the two left the room.

"Hai, I originally was coming to pay Lee a visit. Once I got closer, I heard a bunch of yelling, then a snap of something. When I opened the door, it showed Lee unconscious, with a broken wooden chair next to him. I figured since me and Lee are friends, he might trust my word a bit more than that of the regular nurse" Sakura explained.

Tsunade just sighed at that; while true there would still be paper work for the transfer of patient, there might be a bit of less hassle, and hopefully, faster recovery rate for the young shinobi.

"Alright, I'll let you take over Rock Lee's rehab. I expect weekly reports on his recovery, and no slacking on your own training."

"Hai" Sakura couldn't help but smile at that, she knew it would be less free time, but she had promised Naruto that the next time they go searching for Sasuke; it would be together, not her relying all on him.

* * *

After arriving at the café Tenten spoke of, they were served green tea, and awaited for their orders.

"So Neji, what were you up to today?" Tenten started, knowing Neji wasn't much for conversations.

"I had been meditating for the majority of the morning, and then had taken Hanabi-sama to meet some friends at the academy grounds. Around 5 I'll be returning there to retrieve her before returning home" Neji answered.

Tenten raised an eyebrow at this; from what little Neji had said about Hinata's sister, she was supposed to have inherited the clan heads personality; distant and cold. Neji saying that she went to meet up with some friends just sounded strange to her.

"She has friends? I didn't expect that from what you've stated about her" Tenten said.

"Neither did I. It seems that my observation was not just incorrect of Hinata-sama, but Hanabi-sama as well. Today, just walking and watching her actions make me believe that she may be more like her older sister than what she leads everyone to believe" Neji stated.

The food came, and for the majority of the meal was in silence. Tenten was pondering about asking Neji about his relations with the family; before the chunin exams, Neji was so cold and full of anger for the Main family. After Naruto had defeated him, he became nicer to everyone, that included Lee, and to his cousin Hinata.

After they paid for their meals and left, Tenten decided to voice her thoughts, "Neji, may I ask a personal question in terms of family?"

A little surprised by her bold question, Neji decided he would allow it; he's still trying to be more open on his emotions, but he still found it a bit sore to speak of his family when he had been truly foolish before about it.

"You may Tenten, what do you wish to know about?"

"Well, how is the relationship between you and your Uncle and Cousins? Before, you wouldn't have ever bothered willingly to talk with them, and if you did, there was always a bit of bitterness in your voice. Now, it seems that your anger has vanished" Tenten stated.

Neji pondered what to say for his answer; even though he still feels a bit sore about it, Tenten knew more than most about how he felt before for his family, "it has improved significantly actually. Hiashi-sama has been training me on his own spare time, and I have decided to rebuild the friendship I once shared with Hinata-sama, before I began to blame her for my father's death. Now that I know that one can truly change their fates, I have come to realize that Hinata-sama had always been kind and never treated any of us branch members as slaves. I can also see, based on training with her, that she is actually more skilled with the gentle fist than Hanabi-sama. I think, though, because of her kind heart, it prevents her from truly harming her sister during a spar. I believe Hisahi-sama also knows this, even though he won't ever admit it. The clan heads probably see this as a weakness, and in order to protect her, he had her become a ninja of Konoha, instead of being branded with the curse mark. Hanabi-sama is starting to see her sister's strength as well."

"What do you wish for the clan Neji?" Tenten asked, deciding to push her luck.

"I believe that Hinata-sama is capable of changing the clan; because she's different than most of us Huyga's, she can think differently of running things. Her kind heart won't ever let her brand her little sister should she become the next head. I will continue to train with Hinata-sama in order to get her strong enough before one of the sisters take over" Neji answered.

Tenten just smiled, and in one of her very rare moments of being emotional, gave Neji a hug, surprising him.

"Well I'm glad. Perhaps it will be you three to change the family for the better so later generations won't have to be born with the bitterness you once felt" Tenten let go after saying that.

Neji didn't know why he felt awkward after the hug; he hasn't be hugged since he was young from his dad and mom. It didn't help that the back of his neck felt hot.

Tenten didn't appear to take notice and began walking towards the hospital, "I know it may not be the best idea, but let's go visit Lee before he breaks out again."

He nodded and followed her towards the hospital.

* * *

"They're really nice; you've been friends with them for a long time?" Hanabi asked. There was only an hour left until Neji was supposed to come and pick her up. Moegi and Udon had left five minutes ago to meet up with their families. She and Konohamaru were currently swinging now that there was no ball to kick around.

"Yeah. Shortly after I began at the academy, I met with Moegi first. She was yelling at me, saying that my henge technique that I learned from Naruto-ni-san was disrespectful towards girls. A few days later I met Udon being picked at by some bullies. Apparently, he and Moegi are the first in their families attempting at being ninja, but because Udon doesn't have as much physical strength, and is nervous all the time, it makes him easy picking. Since then we've always been together, trying to surprise Naruto-ni-san when we can, playing, training, and looking after one another. I am an only child since after my birth kaa-san needed to do surgery shortly; she can't have kids anymore."

Hanabi looked surprised by his last remark, "Why can't she have kids anymore?"

"She only has one kidney, so it was hard pressure trying to have kids. Apparently, about a few days before I was born, she had intense stomach pains, and blood was dripping on the floor. Once taken to the hospital, and they did a C-section to get me out, it turned out that my kaa-san had a placenta praevia, whatever that means, tou-san won't tell me. She didn't tell my tou-san because she was worried that he would make her give me up. It turned out that wasn't the only issue though; she began having internal bleeding inside her stomach area as well. The surgery took a few days and she almost died. Afterwards, the doctors stated that she was no longer capable of having kids since they removed the sitting area for the baby, whatever that means" Konohamaru didn't mention that his relationship with his dad had always been strained, even more so since he decided to become a ninja; his kaa-san had been sent to an asylum when it was deemed she had lost her sanity.

"Do ever wish to have siblings? I'm a younger sister so I can't really relate to being an only child" Hanabi said, feeling guiltier of how she treated her sister after hearing Konohamaru's story.

"I use to, but after meeting with Naruto-ni-san and Mogei and Udon, it makes me feel like I do have siblings, so there's nothing to feel sad about" Konohamaru forced a smile on his face.

Hanabi wasn't one for emotional feelings since being born as a main branch, and trained by her father, she was taught to keep her emotions in check. Seeing that smile on Konohamaru's face, however, made her feel tightness in her chest. She felt like crying for some reason.

"My Nee-sama says that my mom died shortly after giving birth to me so I never knew her, but from the photos, my Nee-sama looks quite a lot like her. I've never asked tou-san about it, but after hearing you talk, I think I will. I wish to know about her" Hanabi also looked like she had a forced smile on her face.

Konohamaru was about to apologize for sharing a sorrowful story with her, when a voice called out, "Hanabi-sama, are you ready to head out?"

Both turned their heads to see Neji had returned; with their talking they hadn't realized that it was already past 5.

"Hai, I got to go Konohamaru-kun. Thank you for inviting me to hang out today, I'll see you around" with that she began walking towards Neji.

"Wait" Konohamaru called out, causing Hanabi to slightly jump.

"Yes?" Hanabi asked.

"Listen; try to see if you can get your tou-san to allow you to enter the academy this coming semester. It's true that you'll probably learn most of your skills within the clan, but you won't be able to build friendship if you've got no one to be friends with your own age right? Besides, there's somethings at the academy you can't learn in your clan, please try?" He tried to look hopeful.

Hanabi looked nervous; she actually liked the idea of entering the academy, but wasn't sure how she could plead her case to her tou-san.

"I'll try my best Konohamaru-kun. It would be fun to go with you to study there. Bye for now" and she left this time with Neji.

Sitting back down at the swing, he realized that he told her something he hadn't told anyone yet; not Moegi or Udon, not even Naruto-ni-san. 'I don't get it, why do I just feel at ease with her. We seem to have a bit in common, but I felt that before we even spoke two words with her'. Shaking his head, he decided to go, and perhaps, train before heading home. Whatever it was that was causing him to be more open with Hanabi, he couldn't say that he was worried; in fact, he felt complete relief for talking about his past, like some kind of burden is lifting.

What he didn't realize was that very relief would be a major factor on an important choice later in the future.

* * *

Well how was it, they never did say who or what was Konohamaru's family was like apart from Asuma and the Third hokage, so I'm deciding to build a little bit of a background for him.

So perhaps the next chapter I'll bring back team 8 and Naruto, haven't decided yet. If you guys want some fighting happening soon let me know, I'm trying to get better at writing fighting scenes.

Cheers and happy Canada Day guys


	14. Chapter 14

Hi guys

Sorry for not posting last week, I couldn't think of something that day, and I only post once a week, writing the chapter the same day for this story.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, more Naruto and Hinata Awkwardness involved.

Don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 13

She felt warm. That was the first thought that came into her mind as she slowly began to stir. She couldn't really remember what had caused her to faint. Team 8 and Naruto were returning to Konoha after a failed attempt at finding Sasuke, Naruto had asked to meet up in their spare time, and she…

Remembering what happened, she started to become aware that her head was on something soft, and her arms were wrapped at what felt like a person's neck. She opened her eyes to see a pair of ocean blue eyes staring back at her.

"Yo, Hinata. You feel better now?" The voice was none other than Naruto.

"Eeep" Hinata squeaked as she attempted to get off him, removing her arms from his neck.

"S-s-sorry N-Naruto-k-kun, h-h-ow long was I-I asl-leep for?" Hinata asked, her face turning red as a tomato.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, feeling a bit awkward of the situation placed, "ne, you were only asleep for 10 minutes. You must be really exhausted."

"H-Hai, sorry for the h-hold u-up"

"No worries, Shino said it was time to set up camp anyway since it was going to get dark soon" Naruto said.

"Hey you two, mind getting some firewood. Shino says he'll make some Miso soup today instead of us eating those food pills" Kiba's voice broke through the conversation.

Getting up, Naruto placed his hand in front of Hinata, "well, I'm defiantly up for some food today, let's go Hinata."

Still with a slight blush on her cheeks, Hinata placed her hand in his, being pulled up. Disappointed when he let go of her hand, they began their search for some firewood.

* * *

Kiba watched as the two left to search for firewood. He never truly understood why Hinata had liked Naruto from back then, made sense now, but before he was just the dead last of the class.

"Penny for your thoughts Kiba?" Shino asked, causing Kiba to jump.

"Man, you're so quiet that when you do speak, it feels like you came out of nowhere" Kiba was hitting his chest as if trying to calm his heart.

"…."Shino didn't say anything, but Kiba could tell that he was annoyed by that comment.

"It isn't really anything important, just curious why Hinata liked Naruto back when he was still the dead last of the class. It would make more sense now after everything he had done so far as a ninja, but why back then." Kiba explained.

Shino shifted his eyes on Kiba to the dark sky; the moon was full tonight. He was not so ignorant like most of his class was to not notice the looks Naruto would receive back when they were younger, nor was he ignorant to not notice that Hinata was the only one to not chase after Sasuke. He knew that Hinata had admired Naruto's will to never give up, but was that enough to earn him her affections?

"…I'm not sure what could have happened to cause her interest in Naruto, but based on how Hinata was when our team was first put together, I would say her admiration came from Naruto's way to never give up or go back on his word. While you were in the hospital after your fight with him, Neji had started to belittle Hinata before the match began. Naruto was fuming, and encouraged her to fight, and kept encouraging her even when she would fall down. Naruto had even sworn to fight on Hinata's behalf against Neji, back at the chunin exams, after her defeat" Shino said, explaining what facts he had observed.

Kiba looked surprised at the information, being the first time he heard what actually happened during the fight; he had only known that Neji had brutally defeated Hinata.

"That only explains afterwards, nothing about during academy days. Well it isn't my business, but I really want to know now" Kiba complained, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"I believe it is best not to push the topic should she refuse to explain her reasoning's. If those two ever do finally become a couple, we would have to be discreet in our 'explanations' when it comes to dating her to him" Shino said.

"Haha, you appear all quiet and relaxed, but when it comes to Hinata your just like me; protective over her. But yeah, I agree, let's hope that's not for another few more years though; we still need to make chunin and it would be a lot easier if there weren't any distraction" Kiba said.

Nodding, the two of them proceed to set up the things that would be needed to make dinner, after finishing with the tents.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Naruto and Hinata, Naruto had made two shadow clones to collect the wood, while Hinata activated her eyes to see where the fire wood was located.

"Ne, sorry for making you use your eyes so much after you were tired today" Naruto apologized.

"It's okay Naruto-kun" Hinata responded back. They had collected enough of the wood for the night, but Hinata's eyes had found a waterfall not too far away that she wanted to see before heading back. Naruto thought that they were still looking for wood so he just followed Hinata's direction.

"Ne, Hinata, I'm going to send my shadow clones with the wood back to the camp. Where are we going exactly?" Naruto asked, looking a bit confused.

"Well, I saw a waterfall, so m-maybe we can fill our canteens?" Hinata asked meekly.

"Okay" Naruto understood.

Once they had reached the waterfall, Hinata couldn't shake off the beauty of it; a rainbow was peering over the waterfall, with the moon shining, making it sparkle.

"Whoa, that's quite a scenery eh Hinata" Naruto looked in awe.

Hinata didn't appear to hear him, because she just kept on approaching the waterfall until she was at the edge of the water. Naruto was watching with confusion as he followed her. Before he had a chance to ask what she was doing, Hinata had walked onto the water, and it looked as if she was beginning to dance. She had removed her jacket, and started a rhythm of some sorts. Naruto was absorbed in her movements, and slowly, an image he remembered when the group was traveling towards their mission appeared in his mind. The mystery lady who had been moving on the water around her, Hinata was doing the same thing now. Every time she moved, the water moved with her. Naruto's eyes widened with realization that the mystery lady had been Hinata that night. He also remembered what he said the next day afterwards:

"_Well the truth is I woke up in the middle of the night because I had to go, and I saw something amazing" Naruto explained._

_Kiba suddenly wrapped an arm around Naruto with his head on his shoulder, "so, what was the amazing thing you saw last night?" Kiba asked._

"_A waterfall, with a beautiful lady in it" Naruto exclaimed._

"_No way"_

"_Yeah, and whenever she moved her hands, the water moved with it, I'm telling you it was awesome" Naruto began to move his hands as he explained the scenario._

"_So, what happened?" Kiba asked again._

"_Well, I went to talk to her, but suddenly she was gone"_

"_What? Are you sure you didn't just dream this up?" Kiba asked doubtful._

"_Hmmm, I'm not so sure anymore" Naruto now looked confused as he thought it over._

"_Are you sure you're okay Hinata? Your face is looking a little red" Naruto asked, looking concerned again._

"_I-I-I'm f-fine" Hinata stuttered. _

'Oh man, she must have been so embarrassed that day' He must of sounded like some sort of pervert since he was peeping.

Watching her now, he couldn't help but agree with his statement back then, Hinata was beautiful, and her movements were so graceful, it was like she was in a trance.

Once it looked like she had finished, Naruto felt his throat dry as he started to speak, "wow Hinata, I didn't know you could dance like that. That was amazing."

Hinata gave a startled jump as she turned towards Naruto, and realized that she did all of that while he was still there; her face was growing really red.

'Did I embarrass her again' Naruto thought, as got closer to the lake.

"Gomen, N-Naruto-kun, I c-couldn't help m-myself" Hinata said, with her head down.

'Why is she apologizing for', "No worries, it was really amazing though; where did you learn to dance like that?" He asked her.

"The clan requires us to learn for f-festivities, and c-ceremonies" Hinata answered.

Naruto nodded, wondering how many things you would need to do and learn to be part of a big clan. Looking back at her, he noticed that her clothes were a bit wet, and it was sticking on her a bit. Feeling a liquid go down his nose, he quickly turned around, and wiped the blood away.

'Oh man, damn you Ero-senin. I won't be able to get the image of Hinata out of my head now' not that he minded such an image, but it was wrong to think of Hinata like that when she was so kind and innocent.

"Err, would you like me to pass you a towel to dry off with before we make our way back to camp?" He asked, still turned away.

She looked up to see him looking away, then looked down at herself, only to blush once she realised why he was looking away.

"H-Hai" she felt herself turning redder.

Without turning around, he threw the towel to her. Once she had wiped whatever water she could from her body, she put her jacket back on, and they walked back to camp. An awkward silence filled the air.

'I bet Hinata's really embarrassed now' taking a look, he noticed her looking back, making the two quickly avert their eyes, 'damn you ero-senin.'

* * *

Once they returned, Kiba and Shino had noticed the atmosphere between the two, but didn't comment. Dinner had been served, and they all had taken night shifts. The next day proceeded with ease, whatever had happened between the two, the awkwardness had left. A few hours later the gates came into view, and the group couldn't wait to finish reporting to the hokage, then going home for a much needed rest.

"Man, after were done speaking to Tsunade-baa-chan, the first thing I'm going to do is get me some ramen. It's been days" Naruto said.

"Man, why am I not surprised. I'm just going to go home afterwards. I could use a good shower, and sleeping on a bed after camping outdoors will be nice" Kiba said.

Shino and Hinata just stayed quiet as they proceeded through the gates. Looking around, they saw the streets buzzing with busy bodies, and the smiles of the villagers. Naruto couldn't help but smile at this; ever since the chunin exams, and bringing back the next hokage, people were smiling, and even waving whenever he would greet them. A few still would look wary of him, but the once glares have all but vanished.

Naruto didn't realize that they had made it back to the hokage tower until they entered the building. Knocking on the door, the group entered the room to see the hokage, Shizune, and Sakura in the room.

"Team 8 reporting in, mission was a failed one" Shino announced.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that, "Complications arouse, or were you unable to find the insect?"

"We did indeed have complications, and we had found our target, but because Naruto's scent had covered Sasuke's headband at this point, we couldn't get a scent of Sasukes anymore on it" Shino explained.

"What do you mean?" It was Sakura who asked this time.

Naruto felt he should be the one to explain this part, "I think what happened was, because after mine and Sasukes fight that day, it started to rain, so the rain washed a lot of Sasuke's scent away from his headband. Since I had kept it afterwards, my scent started to overcome whatever scent had remained on it. Therefore; we couldn't catch Sasuke's scent. It got mine instead."

"Naruto…..." Sakura said, cracking her knuckles. Naruto paled at this.

"S-Sakura-chan, I didn't know this would happen, and it was the only thing we had with his scent on it" Naruto slowly started backing away.

"It still doesn't change the fact that because of your scent, Sasuke-kun couldn't be located" Sakura sprang at this point. Naurto turn tail, and ran as fast as he could.

"Sakura-chan, it isn't my fault" Naruto yelled as he continued to run for his life.

"Get back here" Sakura yelled back, chasing him.

Sighing, Tsunade couldn't help but smirk at the two, "Well, I'll expect a report in a few days from your leader, until then you're free to leave. I suspect they'll be running until Sakura exhausts herself; Naruto's stamina is inhumane"

Team 8 nodded, and left the tower.

* * *

"Hinata. I heard that the mission was a failure" Hiashi said.

"Hai. We failed completely. I will train harder to make it a success next time" Hinata said in a cheerful voice.

"I-I see. Work hard" Hiashi said, taken aback by his daughter's cheerfulness.

Neji couldn't help but smile, seeing Hinata looking cheerful around her father instead of the usual timid feel she would have.

Hinata looked up at the sky, and felt the breeze around her face. She curled her hands in her laps, 'more…more….more….more!' She knew now that with more training, she'll indeed be able to catch up to Naruto one day.

'Naruto-kun, I'll continue to work hard, so watch me.'

* * *

There. Lol I love using the whole 'Damn you ero-senin' line a lot. It's his excuse whenever he thinks of perverted stuff that has nothing to do with his sexy jutsu.

I guess next week will be the start of a new arc, maybe. I'm hoping by chapter 20, or before chapter 30, I'll start imputing time skip. I just realized that I started after Sasuke's defection, so it won't be too long before a time-skip is to occur.

Cheers


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everyone

Here's the next chapter

trying to find ways to add more Naruto Hinata time together in this.

enjoy

Don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 14

After the failure of the mission to get a scent of Sasuke's, and a much long convincing to Sakura about how it wasn't Naruto's fault by team 8, the week had gone by with ease; Everyone was either training or playing or on a mission. It was by the end of the week that Kurenai had returned from a mission of her own. Hinata was bringing flowers with her to visit. She still had to ask her sensei if she could help Naruto with genjustu she just wanted to talk like old times.

It was on her way to the hospital that she saw the very person she was thinking of; he was hanging with a small boy around Hanabi's age.

He turned towards her, and gave her a smile with a wave, "Hinata, hey", the little boy turned as well, and his eyes widened slightly.

"H-hello N-Naruto-kun, w-who's your f-friend?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, this is Konohamaru. Konohamaru, this is Hinata" Naruto introduced the two.

"P-pleased to m-meet you Konohamaru-kun" Hinata greeted.

"Yeah, say are you related to Hanabi-chan by any chance?" Konohamaru asked.

"She's m-my s-sister" Hinata answered.

"I thought so; you two have the same pretty eyes. Hey, you think you can tell her that tomorrow me and some friends are coming to my place; I would like for her to join us" Konohamaru asked with appearing to pose puppy dog eyes.

Hinata was flattered that the boy said her eyes were pretty, but got confused about the gathering; since when did Hanabi have friends outside the clan? She needed to talk to her sister about it.

"I'll tell her, b-but I d-don't know if she'll b-be allowed to g-go" Hinata said.

"Aww, well give her this paper when you see her; it has my address if she can make it with the time as well" He gave her a slip of paper stating the invitation.

"Ne, Hinata, remember what I asked you about meeting up during our mission? You think you got some time later on to meet?" Naruto asked feeling a little left out of the conversation; who was Hanabi?

Hinata blushed as that scene played again in her head; it was one of the more treasured, and embarrassed, moments of her life.

"H-hai, I think 7 works f-fine for me N-Naruto-k-kun"

"Great. It'll be at training ground 7" Naruto smiled, and then noticed something, "say, Hinata, why are you carrying flowers?"

Suddenly realizing why she was out in the first place, she bowed before heading off, "Sorry, but Kurenai sensei just got back" and with that she took off.

Hinata knew it wasn't a date, but still, she was nervous all the same.

First things first though, she had to see Kurenai sensei and speak to her on Naruto's behalf.

* * *

Both Naruto and Konohamaru watched as Hinata quickly ran towards the hospital.

"Boss, she's a little strange isn't she?" Konohamaru asked.

"Eh? What makes you say that?" Naruto asked although he though the same thing back during the chunin exam.

"Well, Hanabi is her younger sister, but Hanabi doesn't stutter or turn red. She also is pretty confident when you speak to her. Her sister though, while I must admit is pretty, seems really shy" Konohamaru explained.

"Sure she's shy, and maybe a little weird, but she's actually quite confident in herself, and she's really strong. During our mission me, Kiba, and Shino were covered in bee wax and unable to move. Hinata comes out of nowhere and starts using this really killer move she invented. It defeated those bees and shinobi" Naruto defended.

Konohamaru looked back at the direction where Hinata ran, then back at Naruto; a mischief smile appeared on his face.

"Boss, is she your it?" Konohamaru asked as he lifted his pinky.

Naruto started to turn a bit red at this, "n-no, she's just a really good friend who I respect. We're meeting up later if you want to join us"

"Nah, I don't want to feel like a third wheel or anything, besides, I got to continue training to catch up to you" Konohamaru said.

"Keep trying, you'll eventually get there. In the meantime, let me see how much you've been practicing" Naruto said as he brought his hands together.

"Right boss" as Konohamaru did the same.

"Henge" both yelled out. The sexy jutsu was displayed.

The two completely forgot that they were in public, causing a lot of men to get bloody noses, and passing out.

* * *

Groaning, Tsunade rubbed the sides of her temple; the information that T.I. finally retrieved from that rouge had not been good news. The rouges mission indeed had been to send an alliance for Kumo to accept. Whether they do or not would really pose a problem, and unfortunately, the only person she could spare to find out is the very person who just returned to the village.

"Well, it seems that the lack of man power is truly hurting. How long ago did this take place" the man speaking was none other than Jiraiya.

"About more than a week ago; I had sent out one chunin and a few genin's to track him down. Only now did we find out thanks to the T.I. department that it is indeed an alliance being proposed between Orochimaru and Kumo. I hate to ask when you've just got back, but you're the only one with skills to infiltrate and gather information on whether they agree to it or not. Konoha must know if they should prepare for another invasion" Tsunade said to her long-time teammate.

"Well this doesn't leave me much of a choice. I guess I'm going to have to put off taking the kid for another month or two" Jiraiya said.

"About that, what did you find out in relating to the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, although we can never be too careful, it looks like they aren't going to be moving and searching for the tailed beasts for another three years; about the same amount of time it'll take before Orochimaru takes the Uchiha boys body" Jiraiya explained.

"So everything starts in three years huh. I hope you can get Naruto really powerful by then. I'm working with his teammate at the moment since she's got to be ready to face them if she wants to remain on the same team as Naruto" Tsunade lowered her head, feeling a headache about to take place.

Patting her shoulder, Jiraiya looks out the window; he had a feeling that things were going to get real dangerous in the next three years with the eventual enemies.

* * *

"199, 200"

"Okay Lee stop. That's the limited amount of push ups you're allowed to do"

"But Sakura-san, surely I can do more"

"I'm sure you can, but you know the rules; we don't want you straining your muscles or else you'll never be able to leave the hospital"

"Very well Sakura-san, I shall take your advice"

And that's how it had been for the past week ever since she took over Lee's rehab. She would scan his body for any strains, allow him to do a limited amount of workout, and make him take medicine for his muscle tears to reform.

"I am truly ever grateful for kami sending you to be my nurse; I feel I will be released soon from the hospital where my youth will no longer be concealed" Lee smiled as he followed Sakura back to his room.

Sakura just gave a tired smile; Lee, as promised, had listened to every single instruction she had given him when she took over, and his recovery had actually quickened at a faster rate than she expected. If he continued at this rate, he should be released in less than a month.

"I'm just glad you're listening. You're already recovering faster than average; if you continue to listen, then you'll be out of here in less than a month. I'll even train with you so you can get back to your usual strength and stamina afterwards" Sakura couldn't wait to go to the hot springs. After training with the medical sanin, and helping out in the hospital, along with Lee's rehab, she seriously needed to soak.

"Yosh, I'm so glad to hear you say that Sakura-san; your flames of youth is burning. I promise to continue to improve so we can have our fated training together" Lee brought a fist up as the look of his eyes was burning with passion.

"Alright, here's your room; I'll see you tomorrow Lee" and with that she turned on the left, making her way out of the hospital.

'I wonder if Ino would be willing to join me for a soak' Sakura thought as she made way towards the flower shop.

* * *

Finally reaching the hospital, Hinata entered the building, and approached the front desk.

The receptionist raised her head and eyed Hinata with curiosity; this unnerved her a little bit.

"Hello, I'm wondering what room Kurenai Yuhi is in" Hinata asked.

"Ah, she's in room 209. Her injuries weren't that bad, but she strained her chakra coils so she will be in for a few more days" the receptionist explained.

Hinata thanked the lady, and headed towards room 209. She wondered what kind of mission it was in order for her sensei to strain her chakra coils like that.

Upon reaching the door, Hinata knocked before opening the door. Her sensei was sitting on one of the beds with a picture frame held in her hands.

"Kurenai sensei?" Hinata softly spoke.

Her sensei must have not been focused as she was startled by the sound of her voice, "Hinata, I didn't know you knew about my return. How have you been" Kurenai asked as she moved the picture frame back onto the stand next to the bed.

"Fine, I brought you some flowers to keep the room smelling nice" Hinata said as she placed them in the vase that was on the table nearby.

"Thank you Hinata, they are really pretty. So how have you been; I want to know what you've been up to since I've been away on my mission" Kurenai said. Hinata was not only her student, but she felt like an older protective sister to her ever since Hinata's father disregarded her worthy of becoming head of the clan.

Hinata had begun to explain everything that happened; with a week in a half ago when a bunch of them were catching a rouge ninja, to the failed attempt of getting Sasuke's scent located.

"I and Neji-ni-san have been training together for a while now, and I and Hanabi have begun to patch things up. The clan are beginning to whisper about a branch member training with the main branch. I just hope in the future we can continue to grow closer" Hinata finished her explanation.

Kurenai just pondered what she heard; it seems there's more to thank Naruto than just helping Hinata gradually grow confident in her.

"Seems like you've had a busy two weeks; by the way, how was Naruto's reaction once he saw you with that new move of yours" she smirked as she saw Hinata's reaction.

"S-Sensei!" Hinata squeaked as a shade of red was coloring her face.

"I'm just joking Hinata. I am glad to hear that you and your family are beginning to grow closer; who knew how much Neji would change after the exams. I'm happy for you" Kurenai smiled at her.

"Sensei, I have a favour to ask. Naruto-kun was caught in a genjustu halfway through our mission when we were chasing after that rouge. He couldn't dispel it and had to wait until one of us could. Is there a way to teach him some form of genjutsu? You're the best at it so if anyone could do it would be you" Hinata said.

Kurenai took a long look at her student and she could see it in her eyes; Hinata had that look of determination.

"Unfortunately, you need to have really good chakra control to do genjutsu, along with a wild imagination. Naruto has far too much chakra that his control with never be as good as yours" Kurenai said.

Hinata looked crestfallen at that, so Kurenai got a different idea, "I'll tell you what, after I get out of the hospital I'll meet up with Naruto and see what I can do. Just tell Naruto that I'll meet him once I get out of the hospital."

"Hai, I'm meeting him later at 7 so I'll tell him then" Hinata responded.

"Oh? My you guys grow up quick; already going on a date. I better have a few words with Naruto on how to behave" Kurenai joked.

"N-No, not like that! He just said that he wanted some help with something and to meet him at 7" Hinata's face felt really hot.

"Really?" She couldn't keep the smile off her face.

She and Hinata continued to talk until it had reached 6:30 in which Hinata had to leave to meet Naruto.

'I sure hope you get what you wish for Hinata, just by who he is will give you a hard time to truly be together' was Kurenai thought.

* * *

And that's that.

Kurenai Knew from the chunin exams that Hinata liked Naruto, although whether she would actually tease Hinata about it or not I'm not sure, but I wanted Hinata to get teased so I added this part of her sense of humor to it.

Genjustu, let's see how she helps Naruto with it later on in the story, not even I know at this point.

Cheers


	16. Chapter 16

Hey Everyone

Here's the Next Chapter

i got a review saying they wish for more of Naruto and Hinata moments, so I tried to make this chapter more about them.

Enjoy

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 15

Naruto was pacing as he waited on training ground 7 for Hinata. He had come an hour early to organize his thoughts, but for some reason he was also feeling a little nervous; it was 6:43 pm now.

'Why do I feel nervous of asking her? Hinata is nice, and unless there's a good reason, she won't say no' it was frustrating why he should feel nervous.

Naruto decided that he couldn't wait for anyone to help him with his problem, and although he didn't know if Hinata could help, it didn't hurt to try asking.

'Plus I want to see it again' the move that Hinata had used against the bee opponents was so cool; he thought about asking her for a quick spar.

"N-Naruto-k-kun, I'm here" Naruto jumped; he hadn't heard her come at all.

"G-Gomen. I-I didn't m-mean t-to s-startle you" Hinata apologized.

"N-No, I was too busy pacing that I didn't notice my surroundings. Don't worry about it" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

The two said quiet for a few minutes, before Hinata gathered her courage to break it, "S-so, ano, what d-did you w-wish to t-talk about?"

"Oh!" Naruto snapped his fingers as if remembering himself, "Well, I decided not to wait for anyone since there all out of the village. You can see chakra with your eyes so I thought maybe you could help me. But first, could you do me a favor?"

"I'm confused" Hinata said, forgetting her nerves for a second.

"I mean, I want to know if you could teach me the method to break a genjustu; it's okay if you don't know, but everyone is either away on a mission, or busy, and since you can see chakra I thought perhaps you can help me for a bit" Naruto explained, rubbing his head again, this time in embarrassment.

Hinata nodded at this as a bit of blush colored her cheeks; since Hyuga's eyes can see through the charka system, they can tell when one is in a genjutsu, and how to break them. Something else that Naruto said caught her attention.

"What's the favour?"

"Well….could you use your new technique again? I want to see it; it looked so cool last time. I'll make a bunch of clones, and they'll charge whenever you're ready" Naruto explained.

The blush that was coloring her cheeks grew with color; Naruto has now complimented her new technique more than three times already, and it seemed he really wanted to see it again.

"A-Ano, I-I don't w-want you t-to get hurt N-Naruto-kun" Hinata said, poking her fingers together.

"Don't worry, I won't go in myself, just my clones, promise" Naruto held the good guy pose and smiled at her.

"Okay then" Hinata finally agreed.

As his smile grew, he brought his familiar hand sign towards himself, "Multi-shadow clone justu" and about 50 Naruto's popped into existence.

"Alright, let's do this" one clone said.

"You idiot, wait until she says she's ready" another clone answered.

"Haha, you called yourself an idiot" a third answered.

"Thank includes you in that insult, baka, since were the same person" a fourth responded.

"Oi" and suddenly the clones were arguing with themselves.

Hinata didn't know what to think; it was both funny and strange to see. She decided it would be best to wait until they stopped arguing with each other.

* * *

As Sakura made her way towards the flower shop, she looked around to see some of the shops closing for the day. Although it was getting late, the sun was only just starting to set.

'I hope Ino can get out of the flower shop; it was nice the last time we spoke, and it would be nice to have a friend to talk to during the trip to the hot springs' Sakura thought.

"Sakura-nee-chan" Sakura turned he head to see that it was Konohamaru. The last time she had a conversation with him was when he called her ugly with a forehead before the chunin exams.

"Hello Konohamaru-kun, how was your day today?" She asked.

"It was alright, I mean, it has been awhile since I've gotten to hang out with Naruto-ni-san, so it was fun. I saw Hanabi-chan's sister earlier, and boss was acting a little weird around her. Do you know why that could be?" Konohamaru asked.

"Hanabi-chan? Who's that Konohamaru-kun?" Sakura asked, looking confused by his statement about Naruto.

"You know, from the Hyuga clan. The ones with white eyes" Konohamaru explained.

Realization appeared on her face, "oh, you mean Hinata. I didn't know she had a sister. Wait, you said Naruto was acting weird around her, how so?" Sakura was curious; when did Naruto act strange around Hinata, it was usually the other way around.

"Well, when Naruto-ni-san saw her, he seemed to smile bigger than usual, and when I said she was a bit weird, he defended her right away. Then, when I asked if she was his girlfriend, he just turned red and said they were really good friends. I remember when I said the same thing about you, months ago, he said no with no hesitation. Then, when I insulted you, instead of defending you, he just told me to run. Maybe I'm thinking too hard on this? Konohamaru asked himself.

"I'm sure they are good friends so don't worry about it. Anyways, I'm heading to meet up with Ino right now, so I'll see you some other time" and with a wave, she continued to head towards the flower shop.

What Konohamaru said, though, started her to think about her said blonde; has Naruto really changed that much?

She figured that tomorrow, after her daily routine is done for the day, she should seek him out, and catch-up. She might as well apologize for chasing him around last week too.

* * *

"Alright, alright, let's break it up" the original Naruto said, looking annoyed, "let's not forget why were all here."

The clones stopped, and turned towards Hinata.

Blushing, she got into her Hyuga stance, "w-whenever you're r-ready"

The clones let out a yell of 'attack' and charged towards her.

She began to make the hand signal for the justu, with her eyes closed, and began to move her hands. "Byakugan" her eyes activated.

"Shugo hake rokujuu yon shou!" She announced. The clones started to be pushed back, and thrown far away from Hinata as her hands moved at an alarmingly fast pace.

'Wow' Naruto was in even more awe than he was back when he saw the technique back then. No one was interfering with the fight, so he got to see it in full force.

Without realizing it, all the clones had vanished by that point, and he was seeing her use the technique in full view.

'So fast' he thought as she slowed the move to a stop. He saw her panting softly.

"So cool, I bet that takes a great deal of concentration eh?" He walked up to her.

Gathering her breath, she looked up, and her eyes locked with his. Her face began to blush as she turned her head.

"Arigato Naruto-kun. So you wanted me to help you with Genjustu?" It seemed that the adrenaline from using her technique had made her forget the stuttering all together.

"Hai, could you explain it to me, and in a way that I can understand it; I want to first know how to break from it" his thoughts of the mission before, along with thinking about Sasuke's brother, came to mind.

"I'll try. Genjutsu is something that works on your opponent's five senses. To control the chakra flowing through and liking their cranial nerves; it is a jutsu requiring quite a high level of intellect."

"…I'm not getting it at all" Naruto said.

"Five senses: sight, smell, scent, touch, and sound; it makes illusions, so your mind thinks it's there when it's not. What did you see when you were in the genjustu during the mission?" Hinata asked.

"It was dark; I couldn't see anything" Naruto pouted.

"Hai, then that one worked with your eye senses" Hinata said.

"Oh, okay I think I get it now" Naruto nodded.

"If you're caught in a genjutsu, you must try your best to stop your chakra flow. While in genjutsu, the chakra in your head is controlled by your opponent. If you use more power to disrupt your chakra flow, you can cancel the genjustu."

"What if that doesn't work?"

"Then, someone must be touching your body, and placing their chakra into yours to disrupt the flow"

"You mean like how you did at that mission?"

Turning red, she nodded, "Okay, thanks that makes a lot of sense. So what should I do to practice?"

"Ano, usually practicing chakra disruptions would be most noticeable on water" Hinata said.

"Hmmm, okay I think I know a place, come with me Hinata" Naruto grabbed her arm, and was pulling her with him to a destination.

'N-Naruto-kun i-is h-holding m-my a-arm' her shyness returning, she fainted.

When Naruto felt dragging, he looked down and panicked, "Ah, Hinata! What is it that makes you faint" He didn't really know what to do, so he turned her on her back, and he just laid down, waiting for her to wake up.

'I really need to find out why she faints so much; Neji and Shino say's nothing is wrong, but that can't be healthy.'

* * *

Neji was currently sparing with his uncle; the head of the clan. He originally had wanted to spar with Hinata, but she had stated that she would be visiting her sensei in the hospital, and then meeting Naruto afterwards. Although he was disappointed (not that he would ever admit it) that he wouldn't get to work with Hinata, he understood why it was important for her. He had done his physical workout, some stance training, worked with his byakugan, and then had gone into meditation. Since Hanabi was currently doing her own training, he wasn't bothered by her this time around, and managed to get a full hour of meditation before his uncle found him, and offered to train with him.

"Let's take a quick break Neji, there's a new technique I wish to show you" Hiashi said.

Nodding, he sat down on the stairs near the training ground, and dank some water.

"I'm pleased to see that your movements are fast but controlled. You don't waver much when taking action anymore either during a spar. I'm pleased by you" his uncle compliments him.

"Thank you Hiashi-sama" he said with a bow.

"Sigh, Neji, please just call me uncle. I don't care if the elders get annoyed by this, you are my nephew. And since you've been willingly training Hinata, you should know that both my daughters see you like an older brother"

Neji widened his eyes slightly at this, before nodding, "very well uncle."

"That's better. Speaking of my daughter, how is her training coming along? Meeting your expectations I hope?" His uncle asked him.

Neji smiled, feeling it was a great chance to discuss Hinata's improvement positively, "I think you'd be quite surprised uncle; we've mostly been doing stamina and strength training, but when we spar, she has quite impressive chakra control with her movements. I found out that although she moves differently than we do during our training, her flexibility supports her. Her style suits her more than our style of the Hyuga, and because I've decided to let her work her own way of training the gentle fist, she's keeping up with ease"

Neji was surprised to see a smile on his uncle's face, "I think I know what you're talking about; to be honest, and I think your father would have been the better teacher for Hinata than me. The way you described her sounds like the way your father's gentle fist was."

This was the first time they talked about his father since the chunin exams, "Father's gentle fist was different than our own?"

"Hai, if I was firm, he was flexible, if I was controlled, he was fluid. I can't dance without feeling stiff, but he moved like it was the easiest thing to do. Your father actually made a technique of his own that he only showed me. It's actually the technique I wish to show you"

"Hinata-sama has also made a technique of her own" Neji mumbled, but Hiashi heard it.

"Has she?" This made Neji realize that he had spoken out loud, but knew it was too late to take it back.

"She has, but she had wanted to first perfect it before showing it to anyone. I don't know how far along she had gotten through it, but I promised not to mention anything about it; she wanted to show it to you on the next training session you do with her"

His uncle had closed his eyes for a few moments, before opening his eyes, "I'll wait until she returns to teach you the technique; if what you say are true, then there's a good chance she may pick this up quicker than you. Is that alright?"

Neji raised an eyebrow at that, but nodded. He wondered what the technique was, but it didn't bother him that much like it did in the past that Hinata might be able to beat him at something when it comes to the clan's techniques. What Neji found more Ironic was that while he seemed to be more like his uncle in fighting, his uncle states that Hinata was more like his father.

* * *

Stirring, she opened her eyes to see that it had grown dark. Remembering what happened; she sat up, and looked around. Naruto appeared to be sleeping.

They were perhaps only a few inches away from making any physical contact.

"Eeeep" Hinata jumped up, causing Naruto to spring awake with a kunai in his hands.

"Oi, what, where's the enemy" Naruto yelled out.

"N-Naruto-kun, it's just me; I was startled" Hinata said, bowing her head in embarrassment.

Looking confused, then realising what she was saying, he put the Kunai away.

"It's okay Hinata. You had fainted so I lied down to wait for you to wake up. I guess I fell asleep in the process" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I s-should be g-getting home; it's dark" Hinata said, poking her fingers together.

"Yeah, I suppose so. How about I walk with you to your house while we talk about when to meet next? I'm sure you must be busy, as me, but if we could meet up for more genjustu training I would really appreciate it" Naruto said, looking away as if nervous.

Hinata turned a good shade of red, but smiled a little, "I-I'd like t-that Naruto-kun."

Looking back at her, he smiled and got up, "Yosh, now let's head towards your home" and he began walking.

"Naruto-kun, that's the wrong way" Hinata said as she followed after him.

Naruto didn't know why, but he felt really happy right now that he didn't notice until it was too late that he walked into a tree.

"Ouch, god dammit" giggles could be heard.

* * *

And there we go

I thought a bit of Humor could be added without making Naruto look like an idiot.

I wonder if anyone can guess what Neji is going to learn once Hinata comes back to the house.

Reviews are always welcomed, both positive, and Negative.

Cheers


	17. Chapter 17

Hey

Here's the next chapter. It's a bit shorter than the usual.

Trying to figure out more on how to get the two to hangout more.

Anyways enjoy

Don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 16

"Sigh, isn't this great forehead; done work for the day, no nagging dad or teammates, and the best part is the spa is practically empty so there's privacy" Ino squealed in delight.

"I know what you mean Ino-pig; every day is such a long day, a soak once in a while is sure to recover some of my sore muscles quicker" Sakura replied back.

The two of them sighed and leaned back, enjoying the quietness for a change.

"So, Sakura, what's it like training with one of the sanin's? It doesn't hurt that she's the hokage as well" Ino asked.

"It's hard. I thought it would be mainly learning how to improve my already perfect chakra control, and a lot of medical training and reading. You know I've already been a reader back at the academy. But, it's also a lot of taijustu, and evasion, training. As a medical ninja, we need to avoid death in order to heal our comrades, but should we become targets we need to be able to fight back. On the one hand it's increasing my ability to fight hand to hand, but on the other hand it's leaving me so exhausted that by the time the days done I can only hope for an hour to myself before sleeping and doing it all over again" Sakura explains.

Now this surprised Ino; she agreed with Sakura that she thought it would be a bunch of medical training and reading. To know that there's more to the training, she couldn't help but feel a little sympatric to her since Sakura had always been more book smart than on field action.

This gave her an idea though, "Hey, you think Tsunade-sama would be willing to take on a second apprentice for medical training? I think the idea of having someone with medical knowledge on the team is a sound strategy, and since I already have my clan abilities, I wouldn't need to do the taijustu training with you two."

Ino thought that Sakura would joke about it, but was surprised that she only smiled, "I think that would be great. I would have someone working next to me, and yeah, since you already have your clan techniques, your only requirement would be to practice the medical prospect. How about you come with me tomorrow, and we'll talk with the Hokage together?"

Ino smiled at this and nodded. It was nice for a change to have a joke free conversation.

As they continued to soak, pleased with the conversation, that pleased feeling shattered as Sakura broke the silence, "I guess this makes me your sempai now."

So much for no joking.

* * *

"Ouch, god dammit" giggles could be heard.

Landing on his butt, he began to rub his head with his free hand; the other hand was holding on to Hinata's.

'Wait, when did I grab her?' I guess it was in the spur of the moment when he was leading to her house.

"Naruto-kun, you okay?" Hinata asked; she was still giggling a bit.

"Yeah, but since I was heading the wrong way, why don't you lead us" Naruto let go of her hand, and pushed himself back up.

Nodding, she took a different direction, and began to walk with Naruto following.

"Ano, Naruto-kun, today I met up with Kurenai -sensei" Hinata began.

This made Naruto pause for a moment in his steps; he looked at her as if trying to figure out if he heard right.

"I heard you right, that Kurenai-sensei is back?" Naruto asked.

"Hai, I told her of your willingness to learning genjustu, and she said that once she's out of the hospital, we could meet up. All three of us to help you" Hinata explained.

Naruto was beginning to notice that her stuttering was becoming less, but he was more focused on what Hinata had said, "She's in the hospital? Is she alright?"

"Hai, just chakra drain; will take a few days of recovery, but no serious injuries" Hinata explains.

"Alright, great! So you'll be there with us then Hinata?" Naruto asked. He was excited that now he may get some help with his weakness.

"Hai, unless you would rather be with sensei by yourself…

"No, no, I would actually feel more comfortable if you were there" Naruto said.

Hinata smiled at this, and the rest of the walk to the Hyuga compound was in silence.

Once they reached the place, Naruto couldn't help his surprise; the last time he came was back when Hinata had strained her eyes. He forgot how huge the place was.

"Ano, thank you for walking me home Naruto-kun" Hinata said, snapping him back from his surprise.

"Hehe, no worries; so what's your plan tomorrow? Is there any chance to meet up for more training?" Naruto asked.

"I-I'm not s-sure, but at n-noon I'm going to b-be visiting sensei a-again. If you want to c-come as well you can" Hinata's stutter had returned; she was poking her fingers together.

"Hey, is it alright if I come to see her too? I know I'm not her student, but at least I should talk with her about the whole training thing right?" Naruto asked.

"S-Sure, just m-meet me at the h-hospital at noon" Hinata answered.

"Kay, bye Hinata" and with that, Naruto ran off.

Hinata was on sky high; not only did she get to meet up with Naruto today, but they were going to meet up tomorrow as well.

'I hope sensei doesn't get too disappointed that I invited Naruto-kun' was Hinata's only thought as she walked into the district.

"Hinata-sama" one of the guards at the door said.

"H-Hai" she answered; normally the guards don't talk to her unless her presence is required somewhere.

"Hiashi-sama wishes for your presence in the Hyuga training grounds. We were told that once you got home, you're to meet him there" the guard said.

Nodding, she proceeded to head to the training grounds in the compound, 'I wonder what tou-san wants; we haven't trained together in years.'

* * *

Both Hiashi and Neji were in a meditative state when Hinata had arrived. The two of them had finished talking and training about an hour ago, and instead of relaxing, they thought they should meditate to practice on controling their emotions.

When Hinata walked into the training field, Hiashi was the first one to open his eyes, then Neji. Neji gave a slight smile, while Hiashi just nodded.

"I'm glad you've came Hinata; I certainly hope your day was productive" Hiashi commented.

"Tou-sama" Hinata bowed.

"Hinata, I wish to show both you and Neji a technique that only I know; I feel the two of you are capable of learning it" Hiashi said.

Hinata's eyes widened at that; even though her relationship with her father had improved slightly, it was still strained at best. She wondered what could have made him believe she was capable.

"A new technique Tou-san?" she asked.

"Hai, the two of you, come before me so I can explain it just once" both Hinata and Neji sat down, and waited for the explanation of the new technique.

"It's called eight trigram: Vacuum palm. To perform it, the user precisely pinpoints the enemy's vital points with the Byakugan and releases a high-speed palm thrust. A "Vacuum shell" compressed using the gentle fist is formed to attack the opponent's vitals from a distance, blowing them off their feet with tremendous force before they even notice they were hit" Hiashi explains.

The two were, need to say, surprised. They didn't know that they could concentrate the chakra with such a distance.

"This technique is difficult to do; it requires extreme chakra control. If the control is not perfect, then the thrust may send it in a wide range instead forward, causing others to receive the damage instead. I will show you the move so watch carefully with your Byakugans, and then make sure you practice it where no one's around" He got up, and proceeded to activate his byakugan, facing the training tree.

The two of them watched, activating their eyes to watch carefully.

Hiashi went into his gentle fist stand, then retracted his arm back, and yelled out, "Eight trigram: Vacuum palm" it was fast, but the chakra concentration was in a long line, like wind, and it hit the tree, knocking some of the bark off.

Hiashi turned to look at the two; they had the look of complete awe.

"You gather the chakra into your palm, make sure you've pinpointed where you want to aim, then thrust forward with it the way you do when using the gentle fist with taijustu. It will require strong chakra control, so make sure you have that down before trying for this technique" Hiashi explained.

The two nodded, "Okay, that's what I wished to show you, for now, your dismissed for the evening. I'll let you know when I will wish to see your progress with it" The two nodded again, and left. They were both nervous, and excited for the next day to practice it. Neji now knew why his uncle thought that Hinata may pick it up faster than him; she's almost perfected her chakra control with the new technique she created.

* * *

Naruto paused in front of his house before entering. He had no idea why he just chose to run instead of walking the rest of the way, but he felt energetic. Perhaps that nap in training ground 7 rejuvenated him. He went to his cupboard to grab a packet of instant ramen, and began to boil water. He wiped his chair away with any clothing and dust that was placed there, and waited.

'My house smells a little' Naruto thought. He got up to open a window. The weather was nice tonight. When he turned and heard the boiler click, he took notice of his home; some clothe were on the ground, with some instant cup ramen's on the table and counter.

'Why didn't I notice before' he guessed that it was because he only would go home after feeling tired, and he's been on missions lately so there was no time to clean.

Pouring the hot water into the ramen cup, he set the timer, and began to wait those 3 antagonizing minutes before he could eat.

'I wonder what Hinata's eating for dinner? It must be nice to live in a big home, with family, and eat a big meal together' The only time he eats a big meal is when he's with others; doesn't feel like it makes sense to eat so big by himself.

Click. He licked his lips, and started to slurp the ramen.

Once he was done, he threw it into the garbage, along with whatever cups he saw on the floor, or table. When he looked back, he realized how cleaner his kitchen appeared. Since he figured that he already started cleaning, he picked up the rest of the cups that were on the counter. He used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the table and counter; staining it in the process.

'Maybe I should ask Hinata tomorrow on what I should get for cleaning; I don't want to leave stains on my clothing' with that thought process, he entered his room, stripped, and headed for the showers.

The hot water started to make him feel a little drowsy; the energy he felt when he entered his house was slowly draining.

'Man, must've been more exhausted than I thought' he closed his eyes, feeling each of his muscles relaxing. He must've been really relaxed because he found himself in a place he hadn't gone to since the fight with Sasuke; The cage, the dripping water, the seal, and the big eyes staring down at him.

A growl emitted from the cage as the creature approached forward, showing the frame of it; all nine tales whooshing around.

"Hello brat"

The voice was deep, and full of venom, looking down on him as he was nothing more than a piece of trash.

'Kyuubi"

Looks like he couldn't just shut him out forever; it was time to face his demons.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

"We need to talk"

* * *

And there's that.

Now I got something for next week to work with.

So Naruto's not even noticed how he's become comfortable with Hinata's presence that he's thinking of asking her for help instead of Sakura.

I tried to make the kitchen thing a bit funny, but I didn't find it amusing when reading it so I hope you guys do

Cheers


	18. Chapter 18

Hey everyone.

Sorry for being really, really, late with this post.

Sometime yesterday i had tripped, and got a bone bruise on my ankle. It still hurts, but at least i can walk on it today.

And I suppose i should confirm something; I don't own a laptop, just a desktop so if i can't walk on my foot, i can't make it to the computer.

Enjoy guys

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 17

There was silence for a moment. Naruto looked at the fox and the fox looked at Naruto. Then…

"Hahahaha, this is rich. To what would a human wish to talk to me? I know were stuck together, doesn't mean we have to keep ourselves company" The Kyuubi said, laughing so hard that the cage echoed with its laughter.

"Hey, stop it! I seriously need to talk to you about that fight that happened with Sasuke. I know you hate me, but I've never felt such hatred for anyone else whenever I would use your chakra. That fight with Sasuke was the most malleolus I've ever felt" Naruto retorted. He had been keeping himself mostly busy with training and missions to either ignore the feeling of guilt for not brining Sasuke, or to get stronger for next time.

"That must be quite some slow brain of yours if it took you now to figure that out. I wonder how long it would take for you to process what I would say to you. We may be in here for quite a while" the kyuubi said, poking fun at his intelligence.

"Shut up, I was busy and distracted; I've only now had the time to contact you, and this needs to be confronted. What is it about Sasuke that made you react so violently?" Naruto asked.

"I guess hanging and flirting with that girl would indeed be considered a distraction" the Kyuubi says, still laughing.

Naruto started to feel both hot and embarrassed by that, "I wasn't flirting with anyone. And I haven't seen Sakura-chan for a week. Me getting chased before team 8 got involved doesn't constitute to flirting."

"Kit, I don't really pay attention to names, but I'm sure what you and white eyes do are more than just training. You're truly amusing to watch" Kyuubi's laughing had been reduced to snorting.

Now Naruto couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and flustered at that; he knew who the Kyuubi was talking about.

"Hinata and I weren't flirting! We were training!" Naruto yelled out.

"I didn't know her having her arms around your neck meant training; it's quite a show" the grin was unmistakable.

"Ugh, that's it, I'm leaving" Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was back in his apartment, showering.

'Curse that fox, I didn't know he saw my daily life too. He must have seen all of the mistakes and embarrassments it did daily. I can't speak with him when he makes fun of me; I think I would prefer it better if he treated me with resentment more than with amusement' thinking of the conversation with the kyuubi made him remember something.

"Dammit, I didn't get my answer about what happened with Sasuke!" Somewhere during the conversation he had forgotten what he wanted to talk to the Kyuubi about.

Naruto decided to do it tomorrow night. He shut the water off, dried himself, put on his pajamas, and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning seemed to be slightly cloudy. It was still warm outside, but with the way the clouds were, you thought it was still night.

Hinata, as usual, would get up early for training, but felt like she was putting more effort into it. She had gotten changed, eaten a light breakfast, and was packing her things for the day.

"Hinata-sama" Neji's voice caused her to jump slightly.

"Neji-ni-san, you're up early" Hinata said.

"As are you" he answered in return.

"As am I" the voice behind him said.

The two turned around to see Hanabi up and ready.

"Hanabi-chan" "Hanabi-sama" both Hinata and Neji said together.

Hanabi pouted a bit, "Neji-ni-san, when no one's around just call me Hanabi or Hanabi-chan; it really feels really weird being called 'sama' when your way older than me."

Neji sighed as Hinata giggled; she had wished the same thing when they were younger, but back then Neji held resentment towards her.

"Very well Hanabi, what are you doing up so early this morning if I may ask?" Neji said.

"You still treat me formal. Well, I want to go with you guys like I did last time with nee-sama. I promise not to distract you guys, but I need some help training and I don't wish for tou-san to know about it" Hanabi explained.

"Is this because Konohamaru-kun's invitation?" Hinata asked.

"Well, that's later on during the day. I figured if I train now, I'll be making up for it when it's time to leave" Hanabi said.

"And did you talk to Hiashi-sama about it?" Neji asked.

"No….what if he says no?" Hanabi asked nervously, and Hinata could relate.

"We will just let him know you trained with us and ask him if you can go out of the compound. If you're not ready to tell him yet that's fine, but you need to do it soon Hanabi-chan" Hinata said. She didn't know what type of person Konohamaru-kun was if Hanabi was scared to tell tou-san about it, but if he hung out with Naruto he couldn't be a bad one.

"That's what Neji-ni-san said last time" Hanabi pouted.

"And now you can see that it's not just me. Well, shall we be off to the training grounds then? We've already spent a good deal talking, and I wish to get some training in" Neji said.

And so, all three walked quietly out of the compound, and towards the training grounds to begin their training for the day.

* * *

Naruto woke up to the sun shining brightly on his face, and he knew it was earlier than the usual time he would wake up at.

'Damn, I should have closed the curtains today' his training yesterday, plus the conversation he had with the kyuubi, had worn him out, thus making him forget to close the curtains on the days he didn't have missions.

He tossed and turned, but knew there was no getting back to sleep. He got up and headed for the washroom to begin his day.

After he got changed, he decided to head out for breakfast today; something with eggs. He was craving them.

'I'm glad some of the villagers have started to see me as Uzuamki Naruto instead of the container for the fox' it was both a blessing and a curse after the chunin exams fight with Gaara.

He left his apartment, and began to search for a restaurant that served eggs, when he bumped into someone.

"Oof, sorry, I didn't see where I was go- Sakura-chan?" The shock that appeared on his face was imminent.

"Hey Naruto, I was just going to a café for a quick breakfast. What are you doing up so early? Sakura asked.

Baffled, Naruto composed himself back to grinning, "Well, I slept early, so I woke up early. I also was going for some breakfast. Can I join you?"

He knew that in the past this would be considered a date, but he honestly meant to hang out this time. Somewhere down the line he started seeing Sakura as more of a close friend than an old crush.

"Sure, I have another hour and a half before needing to meet up with Tsunade-sama. This way" Sakura began to lead, while Naruto followed.

'I hope this time we can have a conversation where she doesn't hit me' he knew that she never meant any harm by it, but he couldn't help himself if he had his idiot moments.

* * *

Jiraiya had just made it to the borders of the land of lightening. It was cutting a great deal on his research, but he figured since when he takes Naruto with him, there would be plenty of time to ditch him while working on his training, it would make up for it.

He wondered if the cloud village would really work with Orochimaru; although they haven't been on good terms, the village tends to be prideful of not asking others for help.

'I hope we don't have to go to war with them' the last thing anyone needs with Akatsuki running around is a conflict between villages. It would make them vulnerable.

Once he reached the gates of cloud village, he greeted the guards at the gates, and proceeded in. It helped to have the status of a sanin and a writer.

He decided to check in a hotel first to set his things in order, and then summoned a small toad.

"Master Jiraya, what can I do for you" the toad croaks.

"Please send this note to my spies here. Once they're done, tell them that you will be staying with them until they give you a piece of information that is required" the toad nods, and poofs away.

Now all he had to do was wait it out. He pulled out a notepad and pencil, and decided that while he's waiting, a little 'research' wouldn't hurt. Already the though is leaving him drooling at the prospect.

* * *

"Ha" the eight trigram: Vacuum palm shot forward, but halfway began to disperse before hitting the tree in front of it. Neji just grit his teeth in frustration. His uncle wasn't kidding when he said it required a great deal of chakra control. Just the sheer concentration he was trying to enforce was an effort.

"Ha" Neji turned his head to see that Hinata had released an eight trigram: Vacuum palm of her own. It was more condensed than his based on what his eyes told him, and it shot faster. It never wavered as it got closer to the tree, but even though the tree took more damage than his did from the attack, he could tell that wasn't enough power.

'Hiashi-sama wasn't joking when he said Hinata-sama would be capable of doing it faster than me' Neji could see the concentration was causing her to sweat from her forehead to the control of her palm. Hinata did have better chakra control (he will never admit this out loud) but not enough power to take down strong foes.

Hanabi just watches the two for the past two hours, her eyes activated. She had really wanted to practice with them, but they both had suggested to her to first master the tree and water walking exercises, before even attempting this. She had just made it about halfway up the tree before exhausting herself, watching the other two practices.

"Can you two take a break? Both of you look like your about to collapse" Hanabi yelled out. It was true though; both Neji and Hinata were barely standing straight without the slight wobble in their movements.

"Okay Hanabi-chan" both Hinata and Neji make way to join Hanabi under her tree. Hinata opens her bag, and pulls a couple of rice balls with plums in them. The three take one of the nine there, and take a bite.

"This is really good Nee-sama. You always like to cook" Hanabi says.

"I agree it is quite delicious Hinata-sama; the plum gives it quite a taste to the saltiness of the rice ball" Neji comments.

Hinata turns a little pink from the compliments, but thanks them none the less. The three eat in silence until Hanabi breaks it, "So…you think you guys can help with going over to Konohamaru-kuns house today? I promise I'll leave whenever you guys come to pick me up."

Both Neji and Hinata look at each other, and Neji sighs; he knew he wouldn't like what he was going to do, but he couldn't keep helping out like this.

Hinata had a different mindset however, "Only if you promise that after today you tell tou-san about it; he'll think its suspicious if you don't tell him right away, wondering why you kept it a secret. There's nothing suspicious is there Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked playfully.

Hanabi, who was confused with her sister's question, answered honestly, "Of course there's nothing suspicious. He's just different from what the clan is use to, so I'm unsure if tou-san will approve of him being my friend. Neji-ni-san, is tou-san okay with some of the friends you have?"

"He wasn't too concerned about it at first, mainly because we were teammates, and because I didn't truly respond much to them. But Hiashi-sama seems to approve of Naruto though after the chunin exams so I think he'll be accepting of young Konohamaru; I hear the boy sees Naruto like an idol" Neji explains.

"Wow that makes it a lot easier. Okay, I promise to tell tou-san after today's hangout" she holds her fingers out to show none are crossed.

"Well if you two are done with the food, let us continue" and with that all three get up, Hanabi with the tree, and both Neji and Hinata with the new attack.

"Ha"

* * *

"Wow Sakura-chan, no wonder I haven't been seeing you around much since last week; you sure have your time filled. How is busy brow anyway? I know the surgery was a success, but since he came to help us out instead of resting, it must have tired him out fast" Naruto asks, eating the rest of his eggs.

"Yeah, because of that stunt it made his rehab pushed back, causing him to have another month longer than necessary to recover. It didn't help that he's so stubborn that he wouldn't listen to the nurses when they said not to overdo the workout they provided to him" Sakura answers, sipping on her green tea.

"So is that why you decided to take over? It would make sense; he trusts you more than any of the nurses, even if they have been in the field longer. And I get why bushy brows would be restless; I'm not even there a day and I already want to escape" Naruto laughs at this.

"Not all of us heal fast Naruto, some of us are normal enough that it takes longer to recover" Sakura scowls, but she can't help a little giggle come out as well.

The conversation felt relaxed and calm, something Sakura was glad for; she didn't know what she would have done if the same Naruto who used to gush over her was here instead of the close friend the two had become. She decided it was time to bring her to the next topic of why she had wanted to meet up with Naruto in the first place.

"So Naruto, there's a little talk happening, and I wish to hear it from you" Sakura says.

"Sure Sakura-chan, what is it you wish to know?" Naruto asks, sipping on his green tea.

What Sakura says, causes him to choke, "So how is things with Hinata going."

* * *

And pause

I can't wait to write for next weeks, it's going to be pretty funny seeing Naruto stumble on his words.

Anyways hope there was a bit of amusement in this, I plan on showing some Jiraya stuff since He's suppose to be training Naruto soon

Cheers guys


	19. Chapter 19

Hey everyone

Sorry i didn't post last week, I ran out of Space in my Doc Manager, so I decided to take a week off to get more Room

Here's the next one, kind of a filler

Enjoy

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 18

Coughing, Naruto started hitting his chest with his fist.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sakura asks.

"Yeah, just what you asked took me by surprise is all, hehe" Naruto started to rub his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry" Sakura said with a nervous laugh.

Naruto just waves it off, "no worries, but what do you mean how's things going with her, did something happen?"

Sakura blinks and stares for a moment, then smacks her forehead with her palm. She begins to mumble, something along the lines of "shouldn't listen to Konohamaru" or "of course he doesn't get it."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto was starting to get confused and wondered if he did something wrong.

"Sorry Naruto, just something Konohamaru said made me ask that. Nothing's wrong with her, he just told me that you guys were hanging out together" _and acting weird _"so I wondered how you two were doing."

"Oh, were good. She's been helping me figure out a way to disturb genjustu when caught in it. She said she would ask kurenai-sensei if she could teach me some, but until then were just practicing on the distribution of it. Hinata has a new attack she created herself. It's so cool Sakura-chan, last week when I was with team 8 on that mission, she defeated three Jonin's with her new technique" Naruto said excitedly.

Now that brought Sakura in for a surprise; shy, sweet, Hinata, defeating three Jonins at once; must be a really strong technique.

"What's the move called Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I can't remember, it's too long, but it's a move I think only her clan would be capable of learning. It's like another version of Neji's move he used on me during the chunin exam" Naruto says, scratching his head.

Sakura guessed as much that Naruto wouldn't remember. She was about to ask another question, when a familiar voice broke through, "Sakura, I thought I would see you at the tower, but I saw you here instead. Oh hi Naruto."

"Hi Ino, how are you?" Naruto asked.

"Bored, there aren't any new missions, so I'm spending most of my time at the flower shop" Ino complained.

"That does sound boring, what about trying to learn a new technique?" Naruto asked.

"I've been trying to learn the new move daddy taught me, but it's so frustrating. I thought I would try something different" Ino says frustrating.

"Oh?" Naruto askes.

"She is going to try some medical ninjustu; before I bumped into you, I was going to meet Ino at the Hokage tower" Sakura butt in. Both Naruto and Ino can be so much alike that if she doesn't get in between the conversion, it can possibly go on for hours. Ino loves gossip, and Naruto likes hearing anything new.

"Which is why I'm here now, unless you're still eating Sakura?" Ino asks.

"No, I have finished. I'm sure Tsunade-sama won't mind if we come in a bit early. This was fun Naruto, I hope your training with Hinata helps you out" Sakura says, giving him a genuine smile.

"Thanks Sakura-chan. Once Bushy brows is healed, we should do a spar to help him get back into shape" Naruto responds back.

"Sure thing, come on Ino" Sakura starts to pull Ino by the arm.

"Hey, no need to pull. Bye Naruto" Ino waves at him.

'Well that was both fun and weird' Naruto thought. It was nice where the two of them could just talk naturally, and not get hit. It was weird though because of the comment Sakura said.

'I wonder what Konohamaru said that got Sakura-chan to say that. I was worried something had happened with Hinata' Naruto finished his tea, paid the bill, and began to head to a location where water was. He decided to practice what Hinata had told him about dispersing genjustu.

'If it's anything the way water walking was, I better take my clothe off'

* * *

"Finally" Hanabi yells from the top of the tree, her voice sounding horse from exhaustion.

Both Neji and Hinata pause in their attack, and look up to where Hanabi yelled out.

"Good job Hanabi-chan" Hinata says.

"I'm impressed Hanabi" Neji compliments.

"Thanks" Hanabi yells out as she starts to run down, panting in the process.

"Perhaps we should head back and wash up; your meet up is at 12 and it's almost 10" Neji says to Hanabi.

"Sounds like a good idea" and Hanabi quickly runs back to the compound.

"So, when did they start meeting up? Konohamaru-kun and Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asks Neji as the two slowly walk back.

"I believe this may be the third time I know of them meeting. I don't in particular know how they met or when this took place, but I've only helped her once and the first time she was on her own" Neji answers.

"On her own; unless someone went with her out of the campus, the only time she would have been out was when she went with me that one time to train" Hinata states.

"It may have been that time, I don't recall her leaving apart from when I escorted her" Neji says.

Hinata ponders at this; so Hanabi's been quiet up till now, and it hasn't been long. It would help with explaining to tou-san why it took a while to tell him about Konohamaru.

"It should be fine then when Hanabi-chan explains to tou-san about Konohamaru; it hasn't even been a month since they met" Hinata nods her head.

"Indeed. So Hinata-sama, what are your plans for today?" Neji asks.

"First clean up, and then see kurenai-sensei. I don't know what things will be like during the day, but if we could do some evening training, one-on-one, I would like that" Hinata says, poking her fingers together.

"I would be delighted at that; I wish to not have too many breaks in between the training of our clan's taijustu; your flexibility is becoming a great asset to you" Neji says.

This surprises Hinata; she's heard a few whispers about how she used the clan's justu differently than most, but she always thought about it negatively. It was humbling to know that someone in the clan thought her way was an asset.

"Arigato Neji-ni-san. How about after we clean up, I make us some tea before we take Hanabi out" Hinata says.

"Sounds good" Neji nods.

* * *

Splash, Naruto dropped into the water after dispersing his Chakra. When he floated up, he tried to overpower his chakra everywhere, causing high waves to raise him up. It didn't last long though; as soon as he looked around, he dropped back into the water. This had been happening for the past hour, and no matter how much he tried to concentrate, his attention wasn't all there.

'This is harder than I thought, especially when I don't have anyone telling me if I'm doing this right or not', Naruto rose up, coughing, before getting out of the water and lying down. He had stripped off his clothing, only leaving himself in his boxers, and looked up. It was only past 10 in the morning, but already the heat was a little strong.

He decided to organize his thoughts for a while before trying to train again. His first thought was the Kyuubi. While the two didn't get along (the Kyuubi practically hated him), he never inflicted so much hatred as he had during the match with Sasuke. Even when Naruto had lost it during his fight with Haku, it was his hate that he felt. The fight with Sasukes was anger, but as the Kyuubi's chakra continued to leak, hate had slowly boiled up in him, and he realized that it wasn't his hatred, but the Kyuubi's.

'I need to talk with him as soon as possible; I don't want to confront Sasuke again with the chance of this hatred leaking out, if I hadn't pulled at the last second, I might have shredded Sasukes heart instead of directing it towards his Chidori' Naruto really didn't want that happening.

His other thought was what Sakura had said this morning; something about Konohamaru saying something about him and Hinata. Naruto was worried that something might have happened when Sakura had worded it the way she did, and he felt his heart jump for a minute before Sakura clarified it. Naruto figures he should talk with Konohamaru about Hinata before he says something that might give misinformation; the last thing shy Hinata needs is to be embarrassed by some rumor.

The final thing he wants to organize in his mind is Hinata herself. At first he thought she was dark, timid, shy, and weird. When Neji had said all those things about her, he felt both angry and sympathetic; angry that anyone would bring down their own family like that and sympathetic because just like himself, she was trying to change and be acknowledged. It was probably why he felt safe in telling her his fears before the chunin exams part 3 had started. It was both of a surprise and feeling of such gratitude to feel respect by someone before he even had made a name for himself. Hinata had, from what Sakura said, been watching him. If that's the case, then she saw all of his failures. But instead of making fun of him, she had acknowledged his strength to keep on trying no matter how many mistakes he did.

And now she had gone from struggling against her cousin, to defeating three jonin from Iwa; it both awed him, and impressed him. She still seemed shy, and would faint every now and then, but she would be someone he could trust in battle. It was why he was willing to ask for her help even if it was only for disrupting a genjustu; hopefully she can help with kurenai-sensei.

'I wonder what she's up to today, maybe later on I'll visit kurenai-sensei and ask about it; maybe Hinata will be there as well' lately, apart from everything else, he found his thoughts drifting towards Hinata at least once a day. He figured it was from them spending a lot of time with each other lately.

Closing his eyes, he just listened to the wind, birds, and footsteps. The wind felt great on his skin from the heat of the sun. The birds sounded like they were singing, making beautiful music. The footsteps sounded casual, getting closer, and feeling a shadow loom over-wait, hang on!

Opening his eyes, he saw Shikamaru and Choji standing over him. Shikamaru had his casual lazy look, while Choji was eating a bag of chips.

"Hey there Naruto, whatcha doing?" Choji asked, putting more chips into his mouth.

"Oh, hey guys. I'm just taking a break and drying off" Naruto said.

"Taking a break? Well, that sounds good to me, let me join you" and as Shikamaru said that, he layed down on his back, and brought his eyes upwards.

"Nothing like cloud watching" Shikamaru said.

"Ne, Shikamaru, aren't you supposed to be doing a lot of missions or something since you're a chunin?" Naruto asks as Choji sits on his other side.

"Just got back from one yesterday; I'm on standby until further notice" Shikamaru responds lazily.

"And with Asuma-sensei on missions constantly, team 10 can't really go on missions unless Shikamaru leads them, which is rare since he's usually also out on higher missions" Choji explains.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru mutters.

Naruto sighed at that; he didn't really expect anything less from Shikamaru since he knew how lazy he was. It was still annoying how someone who didn't want the promotion was able to achieve it, even if he understood how.

"Enough about missions, let's look at the clouds for a while" Shikamaru says.

Naruto figured while he was relaxing he might as well cloud watch.

"So Naruto, Kiba says the last mission was somewhat of a bust" Choji says.

"Yeah it was; we found the bug, and even prevented it from being captured, just for it to pick up the wrong scent. It was a real shame too since Hinata was captured, then she defeated the jonins who attacked us. She got so tired that during our travel back, she fainted" Naruto says sourly.

"Hinata defeated jonins?" Shikamaru pipes up.

"Yeah, it was really amazing; she created this new technique from her clan, something similar to the one Neji used on me back in the chunin exams, and it repelled and destroyed the summoned bees that were attacking us, thus defeating the jonins" Naruto says.

"Wow, Hinata's sure gotten better. If don't keep up Shikamaru we'll be left behind" Choji says, nudging Shikamaru.

"Troublesome. I'm already Chunin and that's more than enough troublesome work for me" Shikamaru mumbles.

Naruto was about to respond to that, until he decided it wouldn't make a difference. Closing his eyes again, he continued to listen to the wind and birds from before.

* * *

There we are

So trying to get More Naruto and Hinata love there, hopefully it's Not too cheesy.

I added Shikamaru and Choji for the first time

Hope you guys liked it.

Cheers


	20. Chapter 20

hey Everyone

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this, I'm honestly behind in all my stories.

Here's the next chapter, and Forgive any mistakes i may have missed.

enjoy

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 19

It was now 12 and it had only gotten hotter outside. For those outside, water consumption was being more consumed than usual.

Those who were indoors, however, didn't really allow the people to notice it due to the cool air blowing around, thus sparing them from the heat.

One in particular was so anxious to begin moving around was Rock Lee. He was told in a week he should be ready to be discharged since he had been exceeding the expectations of his recovery. He couldn't believe how less working out could improve his recovery rate, and he owed it all to the one who was willing to take his physical therapy seriously; Sakura Haruno. She would be coming in two hours to complete it for the day, but until then he was stuck in his bed.

So need to say, he was quite relieved when he had visitors.

"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Choji-kun, it is so good to see you" Lee exclaimed.

"Bushy-brows, how's it going; Sakura-chan told me you were improving" Naruto responds back with equal enthusiasm.

"Hai, but it is still frustrating; I can't train my normal routine, and if it weren't for the threat of a second week staying, I wouldn't remain on this bed" Lee said with a frown.

"Troublesome, just hold out for another week and then you can go do whatever the normal is for you" Shikamaru said.

"Of course Shikamaru-kun, I shall not disappoint" Lee says, punching the air.

"We brought some food to eat" Choji states, showing four ramen bowls out. Naruto dragged a table nearby and the four of them started eating lunch.

* * *

A healing glow was beginning to form around her hands, but the concentration was straining. The chakra control for this was ten times harder than doing water walking or tree climbing, and that hadn't been too difficult at all.

She pressed her hands near the fish, trying to keep her concentration, but after a few minutes the glow faded, and the fish remained unmoving.

"Kuso" Ino whined. She had been trying since being given permission by Tsunade-sama to form the healing palm. After a few hours, she had finally managed it, just to lose it before attempting to heal the injured fish as her training.

"Sakura, I can't keep it going for more than a few minutes. I already feel like I've drained the majority of my chakra" Ino complained, sliding to sit in a chair nearby.

Sakura just raised her head from the book she was reading about infections, and lifted an eyebrow at her. Ino just glared back.

"How long did it take you to get the fish healed?" Ino asked her.

"Well, Tsunade-sama says on average it usually takes 3 to 6 months to heal it for the first time" Sakura replies.

"Sakura…" Ino glowers.

Sighing, Sakura places the book down, "I got it within the first month, and then I was able to do it almost with ease the second month."

Defeated, Ino bows her head down.

"Hey, even Tsunade-sama was surprised; like I said it usually takes about 3 to 6 months to get right the first time. I have always had perfect chakra control, which is why it was just quicker for me to grasp. If you want some advice, I suggest working with some chakra control exercises when you are not here training. I will help keep that glow easier" Sakura says, giving Ino a smile.

"I guess that's all I can do. Why are you reading that book anyway?" Ino asks. She thought Sakura would be doing something similar to what she was doing with healing the fish.

"Well, you want to know the basics in order to help anyone on your squad should they get hurt, but I wish to become a master like Tsunade-sama in the Medical world. In order to do that, I need to read as much on anything related to the Medic field as possible. Unfortunately, this is only the fourth book I've began. Around two I need to meet Lee for his Physical therapy, then at four is training an hour with Tsunade-sama in Taijustu" Sakura says, and continues to read the book earlier.

Taking a closer look, she could see the concentration Sakura was putting to memorizing the book. Seeing her sheer determination both made Ino feel shame, then motivation. She stood up, and proceeded to practice the healing palm from earlier. 'If Sakura can do it, then there's no reason why I shouldn't either.'

* * *

Hanabi, Neji, and Hinata were all walking along a route passed the academy. Hanabi kept looking at the note in her hands, then looking up as if to see she was going the right way.

"Konohamaru-kun lives quite far from the compound doesn't he; It's even farther than the academy" Hanabi says.

Both Hinata and Neji had to agree on this; this was actually the first time they would be heading towards the location where the Sarutobi clan was. Most people thought of the third Hokage, or his son, or the grandson whenever you hear Sarutobi, but it's filled with more than over fifty people of the clan.

"Perhaps we should have left earlier from the compound; I had not anticipated the walk to be this far" Neji says.

"I too have not expected it to be far; Hanabi-chan, have you located his house yet?" Hinata asks.

"They all look the same to me" Hanabi whines, accidently releasing the note from her hands; the wind begins to blow it away.

"Ah" Hanabi yells, and begins to give chase. Both Hinata and Neji begin to follow after her.

They ran for about ten minutes before the wind (surprisingly in this heat) slowed down, and the note floated back onto the ground.

"I didn't want to get all sweaty again, but this heat is really not helping" Hanabi complains as she picks up the note.

"Tell me about it" says a voice to the side.

All three turn to see that it was both Moegi and Udon, just standing in front of a house. The door opens a few seconds later, revealing that it was indeed Konohamaru's house.

"Hey guys, you made it-whoa, Hanabi-chan, you okay, It looks like you're coming from a sprint" Konohamaru greets.

Puffing, she walks up towards him until they are barely a few inches apart, "I was trying to chase this note, a wind came out of nowhere. Plus it's really hot, I'm pretty sure they can back me up" Hanabi states, pointing to both Udon and Moegi, who nod for confirmation.

Rubbing the back of his head, he looks around to also see both Neji and Hinata looking just as dishevelled as Hanabi.

"Well, how about you all come in and I'll make some Ice tea? That means both of you as well; it's hot out here" Konohamaru moves out of the way for everyone to come.

"It's okay Konohamaru-kun, we don't want to intrude" Hinata says with Neji nodding in agreement.

"At least cool off before leaving; I've barely been out for a few minutes and I can already feel the heat" Konohamaru argues.

Hinata and Neji look at each other for a moment, and then proceed to Konohamaru's home.

* * *

Paper after paper, signature after signature, she was about to just break the desk in frustration when the door opened.

"Tsunade-sama" Shizune says.

Lifting her head up to see her, Tsunade just sighed, and made a movement with her hand that told Shizune it was okay to come in.

Shizune placed Tonton on the ground as she approached the desk.

"Shall I make you some tea Tsunade-sama? You've actually been in here since close to 6 a.m." Shizune offers.

"What I really wish for is some saki. I try my best to distract myself, and unfortunately, only this paperwork is what's working. Who cares of merchants crossing when Jiraya hasn't sent word if he managed to get into the village or not?" Tsunade says her hand curling into a fist.

"Actually, we had received intel from Jiraya-sama not too long ago saying he's entered the village, and now is waiting from his spies of word about the alliance. It might be awhile if that's the case" Shizune repies.

This jolts Tsunade with surprise, then a grin forms quickly, then frowns, "then that means the old pervert is going to be busying on something unprofessional while waiting. I wish I could have sent someone with him to keep him on track. Well that was defiantly good news to hear at least, I think I'll take that tea Shizune."

Nodding, Shizune heads out.

While waiting, Tsunade looks back at the paperwork, and starts to read the next one in line. It appeared to be a mission about transporting some items to a farm, then guarding the farm until its build and complete. It looked to be a C-rank mission, about two weeks long on average, and low C-rank at that.

'I wonder if I should' Tsunade thought. She figured that while Jiraya was waiting on his spies to gather information from the cloud village, she should perhaps send Naruto on a mission to keep him busy. There is a good chance that the two could be done at the same time, before Naruto begins his three year training under Jiraya.

'It's worth a shot' she figured. The only thing she would need to decide is who the other two would go with him. In any case she would send him the first thing tomorrow with the other two choices with him.

* * *

"Ah, that was most superb. Thank you guys for the meal" Lee says gratefully, placing his hands together as if in a prayer.

"No problem Lee, we figured to visit since none of us have missions to attend to, we'd hangout for a bit" Choji says.

"Troublesome, I would have been happy with watching the clouds under the shade, but it was even too hot for that" Shikamaru mutters.

"As much as I don't want to admit it, it was even too hot for training after it hit noon. I was out early for some breakfast with Sakura-chan, and then went to the rivers for some training, until I took a break. Not long after these two showed up, and I joined Shikamaru for cloud watching before it got too hot to bear. I'm guessing your therapy will be soon huh?" Naruto says.

"Indeed Naruto-kun. Within an hour Sakura-san should be coming to retrieve me, and we shall begin the physical therapy. I must say though after I'm released it shall take me awhile to reach the level I once was" Lee says.

"Well, after your release, we could spar sometime. I haven't had a real good sparring partner since…" Naruto chokes up on the last bit of his sentence, but everyone in the room understands.

"I would both be honored and grateful Naruto-kun. I believe Sakura-san has also stated that she would be willing to spar with me. Yosh, both of your youths burn brightly, and I shall do my best to burn along with it" Lee states with enthusiasm, his eyes gaining a fire look to it.

"Well I will be back hopefully before Sakura-chan does. I need to visit someone else in the hospital while I still can" Naruto states, getting up from his seat.

"Who are you going to see Naruto?" Choji asks.

"kurenai-sensei" Naruto simply says.

"Is it for some advice or help for your training?" Shikamaru asks. Always the sharp one.

"Yeah, since she is an expert in genjutsu, I figure if anyone can help me than she would be the one to" Naruto says.

Sighing, Shikamaru gets up from his seat, "I guess I'll come along then since Asuma-sensei isn't really here to visit. Stay with Lee Choji, I'll be right back."

Choji just nods, before pulling a bag of chips from the second bag next to the empty ramen bag.

Naruto and Shikamaru leave and make way towards Kurenai's room.

"Why would Asuma visit had he been in the village Shikamaru?" Naruto asks.

"They seem to have formed a close friendship with one another. Most of the time if they aren't on missions or team meetings, then they are seen hanging out together" Shikamaru says with a shrug.

Naruto didn't know that, but found it acceptable so he didn't bother asking anymore questions. He had only two things he was thinking of at the moment; what had she done to land her in the hospital, and if she could help him in learning some genjustu.

Once they reached her door, Shikamaru knocked on the door.

"Come in" Kurenai said. They opened the door and entered.

Kurenai-sensei looked surprised to see them, but a smile formed on her lips, "well hello you two, it's nice of you to visit."

"We were visiting Lee and figured to come see you as well. You feel better?" Shikamaru asks.

"Tons, tomorrow they shall be releasing me, especially after having Tsunade state that I was fine to the nurses. I am so glad that she's put Shizune in charge, otherwise it may have taken them longer to release me" Kurenai says with a sigh.

"Well that's good right? You'll be able to leave, and I know how terrible the food is here" Naruto says with a face.

Kurina holds a laugh that threatens to leave from her from looking at his face, "So Naruto, Hinata states that you've been looking for some answers for genjustu?" Kurina says.

Nodding, he grabs a chair nearby, and takes a deep breath, "Kurenai-sensei, can you teach me how to do genjustu?"

* * *

Well there we go, again I apologize for being late.

This week was busy, and I was burning up with fever for two days, I don't know if that's suppose to happen when you get a tetnious shot, but that's basically what happened.

Until next week, and i'll make sure to be on time this time.

Cheers


	21. Chapter 21

Hi guys

I know i'm no longer consistent, but life is getting busier, so i can only post when I get the time.

I'm think of making a Sequel to this story as I'm probably going to finish it before the new year comes. I probably won't get the story started right away, but keep in mind of it.

Here's the next chapter enjoy

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 20

She knew that was what he was going to ask her since Hinata had stated as much, so it really wasn't much of a surprise when he did.

What did surprise her though was the serious look in his eyes.

There were perhaps only a few times Kurenai can pinpoint when Naruto had shown that look of seriousness, and the fact that he was wearing it now meant it was really bothering him.

"Well, first off, why the sudden interest in genjutsu in the first place? I know how much you love to learn a new ninjutsu, and by watching your taijutsu from the chunin exams, I'd say it's all through your experiences in the field. What has you suddenly wanting to learn genjutsu?" Kurenai asks.

"Well, awhile back, maybe close to a month ago, I was on a team tracking some rouge related to Orochimaru of some sort" Naruto begins.

"Is that the mission where I had to lead a group of you due to being no higher ninja to spare?" Shikamaru asks.

"Yeah, we were assigned to capture him since he may have had some information on the bastard. Speaking of which, we never did figure out what the guy knew. I have to remember to speak to Tsunade-baa-chan about it" Naruto says.

"Naruto, don't call Tsunade-sama that" Kurenai scolds.

"But she is old, even with that henge she wears all the time" Naruto pouts.

Kurenai held herself off foe a second time on laughing at Naruto's antics, "She's still the hokage, so some respect is in order."

Naruto huffs, but doesn't say anything, and Kurenai knew that he wouldn't listen so she just sighed.

"I'm actually in agreement with Naruto here; we never did get informed on what the guy knew, and my only conclusion was to prevent any episodes Naruto might throw if it's actually solid information to Sasuke's whereabouts" Shikamaru interjects.

Naruto gasps at this as if this was news to him, then quickly stands up, "is that why, I'm going to give Tsunade-baa-chan a visit then."

"No, moron, it' just a theory, don't go on just my word and make a fool of yourself in there" Shikamaru retorts, grabbing Naruto's arm before he could storm off.

Naruto looked annoyed, but relents, and places himself back down on his seat.

Looking at the two, Kurenai decides to speak up, "he's right Naruto, if you wish to ask Tsunade-sama about it, then ask, don't barge in, or else she'll most likely place you in the hospital herself."

Naruto shivers at that as he remembers what just a flick on his head had caused, "fine, what was I talking about again?"

"How it started with the mission to catch the rouge" Shikamaru supplied.

"Right! Well, things were going well, we found him and gave chase, but at some point when he threw a smoke bomb in our way, we got split up. During that confusion, he managed to place me in a genjutsu and I was unable to figure out how to break it. I don't know how long I was in it, but I knew if I had been alone, I would have either died, or been interrogated after capture. As it was, Hinata managed to break me out of it. Can you teach me how to do genjustu so something like that never happens again?" Naruto asks, with a pleading look in his eyes.

Sighing, Kurenai looked Naruto in the eye and tried to be as honest as possible, "Listen up Naruto. Genjutsu are techniques that control the flow of chakra in your opponent's brain, giving you power over all five of their senses. They're advanced ninjutsu that requires lots of intelligence."

"I don't get it, but I think it's something similar to what Hinata said before when she tried to explain it to me. Five senses: sight, smell, scent, touch, and sound; it makes illusions, so your mind thinks it's there when it's not?" Naruto asks, unsure if he is correct in his assumption.

"Correct Naruto, and to be honest, you're not the genjutsu type; more of a ninjustu type if were all being honest" Kurenai says.

"Huh? Really!" Naruto exclaims, looking slightly crestfallen.

She nods, and he just slumps into the chair.

"But, just because you're not a genjutsu type, doesn't mean you can't learn to break out of them. The stronger the genjustu is, the harder it is to break, but learning, and succeeding in breaking out of genjutsu would help you immensely so something like that mission you explained to me can never happen again" Kurenai quickly assures.

This returns Naruto back up with enthusiasm, and waited for more explanation.

"Okay, when you're in a genjutsu, the flow of chakra in your brain is being controlled by your opponent. So if you get caught, you need to stop that chakra flow" Kurenai explains.

"Stop the chakra? Hinata said the same thing, but I wasn't sure how to do it despite the explanation when I was practicing back at the lake" Naruto explains.

"Well, thanks to all the training you've had so far, you've focused chakra at the bottom of your feet, and when you stand on water, you're doing it without even thinking about it, correct?" Kurenai asks.

"Yeah, your right" Naruto says.

"So if you can stop that flow for a second, it means you've stopped the flow, and you would sink into the water" Kurenai says.

"Then what?" Naruto asks.

"As soon as it's stopped, break his hold by redirecting all your chakra at once. If you do that, the genjutsu will end" Kurenai says.

Naruto can't help but be fidgety in his seat after hearing that. He wanted to get up and go practice right away.

Kurenai turns to Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, what are your plans for today?"

"Nothing until I'm called for another mission" was Shikamaru's laid back response.

"Well, Naruto looks like he's about to leap out of his seat to get practicing, why don't you go help him out?" Kurenai says.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru mutters, but gets up none the less, and begins to head to the door, Naruto following.

Before Naruto heads out, however, he looks back at Kurenai, "what if I can't break out of the genjutsu, no matter how much I try to dispel it?"

"Well, if you're on your own, then there's nothing to do but accept it. That's just how it works when you're facing them alone", seeing Naruto's face fall at that she quickly speaks up again, "however, it's different if your comrades with you."

"Really?" Naruto pipes up, not really believing it.

"Yes, for example, even though you weren't able to break out of the genjutsu, did someone else help you break out of it?" Kurenai asks.

Naruto thinks for a moment, back to that day:

_Flashback:_

_It was dark and quiet, no vision at all. With no visual, the other senses need to be active. Unfortunately even those were not working properly as well._

"_Dammit" Naruto just couldn't figure out how he winded up in the genjutsu. One minute he was chasing after his target and the next everything just went black._

"_I really wish I knew how to break free of this!" It really was frustrating that even though he's improved since the time he started his genin career, no matter what, genjutsu was one thing he couldn't do about._

"_So now what; how can I break free of this? It feels like it's been hours." He closed his eyes and tried to get an idea forming in his head, but nothing seemed to come to mind._

"_Arrg!" he yelled out in frustration, pulling his hair in the process. It was supposed to be an easy chase after finding their location, and now he was stuck until either help comes or he figures out how to undo the genjutsu._

"_Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun."_

"_Huh"?_

"_Naruto-kun."_

_Someone was calling him and it was getting louder._

"_Who is it?" Naruto yelled hoping to reach the voice._

"_Open your eyes Naruto-kun."_

_Suddenly, it was just easy to open them. He had to shield his eyes from the light, but when he came to he saw the face with the voice that was calling him._

"_Hinata?" surprise was placed on his face._

_Hinata's face looked red, but she still answered him, "Are you alright Naruto-kun?"_

"_Yeah, thank you I owe you one." _

_Flashback end_

He remembered thinking she looked so cute, and because, even though he now had people who cared about him, it still always warmed his heart when it was shown on their faces.

"Yeah, Hinata was able to break me out of it" Naruto answers.

Kurenai nods at this, "yes, she did by sending her chakra into you, thus disturbing the chakra flow in your system, and breaking you out of the genjutsu. If you cannot break out of it on your own, your comrades will be able to."

Smiling, Naruto nodded at this, and followed Shikamaru out of the hospital to practice what he was told.

'I hope it truly helps you Naruto, I'd hate to think what would happen if you were to meet Itachi' while she hoped it wasn't the case, there's no denying that at some point he would come face to face with the akatsuki, and the mostly likely person to be is Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

Neji and Hinata had been sitting in the group that Konohamaru had formed in his house, along with her sister, sipping on some lemonade due to how hot it had become outside.

Hinata had been actually been planning on seeing Kurenai-sensei again, and from what Neji had said to her while walking here, she assumed that he had planned on seeing Lee.

"I hope everyone is feeling cooled down now; I originally thought we could go out after meeting up here, but since it's so hot, perhaps we should do some indoor activity" Konohamaru says.

"I think that sounds like a better idea. We appreciate your hospitality Konohamaru-kun, but Neji and I have planned to visit some people at the hospital today, and we really do need to leave" Hinata says, standing up.

"I agree we thank you for your hospitality" Neji says, standing up.

"No problem guys, you're welcomed anytime" Konohamaru says, with a wave of his hand.

"Hanabi-chan, don't leave until we come to get you, alright?" Hinata says.

"Sure thing nee-sama" Hanabi says with a smile.

Once both Hinata and Neji made it out of the house, the heat immediately hit them.

"It feels as if the heat has gotten stronger, perhaps we should make pace towards the hospital?" Neji recommended.

"Hai" Hinata responds, and the two begin to run at a steady pace towards the hospital.

While running, Hinata begins to start a conversation with Neji, "Neji-ni-san, are you going to visit Lee-kun at the hospital?"

"Yes Hinata-sama, although I had hoped Tenten would have been available to come" Neji curtly replies.

"She doesn't want to?" Hinata asks.

"She's currently on a mission with some of the older genins; the mission requires those good with weapons it seems" Neji says.

Hinata let it drop after that, it didn't really look like Neji wanted to talk about it.

As they reached passed by a few stands, a splashing noise could be heard, along with a familiar noise.

Hinata came to a halt in her pace, and slowly began approaching where the noise was coming from, causing Neji to follow, a bit curious.

Upon arriving, what Hinata saw caused her to turn a shade red; there was Naruto, standing next to the lake, dripping wet, in only his boxers.

It was too much, and caused Hinata to faint.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji yelled out.

* * *

"Naruto, slow down" Shikamaru yelled out, chasing after him.

"Come on Shika, I want to do this quickly before I forget what Kurenai-sensei said" Naruto yelled out behind him. Now that he knew that he couldn't do genjutsu, but could dispel them, he wanted to do it as soon as possible.

"Where are we heading?" Shikamaru asked, finally catching up.

"There's a small lake, where I can practice and be visible if done correctly" Naruto answered.

Shortly, they reached said lake, and Naruto began stripping himself of his clothing but his boxers.

"Good idea, no point in getting them soaked" Shikamaru nodded.

Naruto quickly stood in the middle of the lake, "okay Shika explain what I have to do so I get it right."

"Troublesome. Okay, first you need to stop the chakra flow that's being controlled through your brain" Shikamaru says.

"Got it!" Naruto yells out. He closes his eyes and focuses. For almost a minute nothing happens, and then….

"Ahhh" Naruto sinks under the water.

"Okay good, now, break his hold by redirecting all your chakra at once."

Naruto immediately places his palms together, and redirects it, "Ahhh", the water raises, like a standing post, and Naruto's quickly rising upward.

"And that's all there is too it, can we go now, it's still hot" Shikamaru grumbles out.

"That's it?" Naruto says, the flow going back to normal, making Naruto once again standing in the middle.

"That's it, just remember that and you should be able to break free" Shikamaru says.

"Cool" Naruto quickly runs back to shore, and begins to shake his hair to get the water out.

"Hinata-sama" Naruto turns around, and his surprise is obvious on his face.

There laid Hinata, with her face red, on the ground passed out, with Neji hovering.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaims.

* * *

And that's it, She's improved her speaking around him, but still can't help but blush or feel to overwhelmed. It doesn't help that he was close to nudity.

Cheers everyone until next time.


	22. Chapter 22

Hey guys.

I hope it isn't too annoying that I've become a bit inconsistant with my postings.

Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy.

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 21

Naruto and Shikamaru quickly went to where Hinata had fainted seconds ago.

"Neji, what happened?" Naruto asks.

"She fainted" Neji says.

Naruto looked at Hinata's face, and saw that it was really red. He made his way to pick her up, but Neji held out his arm, "What are you doing Naruto?"

"Going to pick her up so we can take her to the hospital, what does it look like?" Naruto says, annoyed.

"She's going to be fine, no need for that" Neji says.

"This isn't the first time that this has happened! First during yours and hers sparing break last week, then after the mission with team 8, then after she explained to me a bit about genjutsu yesterday, and now this. I swear she's sick or something" Naruto exclaims.

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow at this; since when has Naruto been so observant of Hinata?

Shikamaru had an idea of why Hinata fainted, and decided to spare her some embarrassment for later, "It's really hot Naruto, and what she's wearing is a bit too warm for the weather. She may just have overheated a bit. Let's just move her into the shade until she wakes up and get her some water ready."

Naruto nodded, moving to carry Hinata once again, and this time Neji didn't stop him.

Once they reached a shade under a tree, Naruto leaned back, still with Hinata in his arms.

"Naruto, you can place her down you know" Neji says.

Naruto was turning a bit red, but shook his head, "I tried, but she just won't let go" he pointed to where along the walk to the shade Hinata had wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well I hope she doesn't freak out when she wakes up. I'm going to collect our things and get that water ready for her when she comes to" Shikamaru walked back towards the water, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath.

Naruto turned his head towards Neji, "where were you guys going?"

"To the hospital; Hinata-sama wanted to see Kurenai-sensei, and I wished to pay a visit to Lee" Neji answers.

"Were you guys coming from home?" Naruto asks.

"No, we had just dropped Hanabi-sama at the honorable grandsons house, and drank some lemonade with them for a bit, before heading towards the hospital" Neji says.

This surprised Naruto, "at Konohamaru's? I didn't know he knew Hinata's sister" although Naruto thinks he heard something about him knowing her yesterday.

"They do, and he had invited her to hang out with his friends at his house today. After me and Hinata-sama visited the hospital, we were going to go back to his home to pick her up" Neji says.

"Here are the bags; I'm going to head out now that you're done with training Naruto. Later" Shikamaru left.

"Thanks Shika" Naruto yelled out. He was grateful for the help, but a little annoyed he would leave before Hinata woke up.

"Training?" Neji asks.

"Yeah, I went to the hospital with Shikamaru and Choji to visit Lee since it started to get really hot out here, and then went to see Kurenai-sensei. We talked about genjustu and how to dispel them" Naruto explained.

"I never pegged you for genjutsu or any interest in it" Neji answered honestly.

"I'm not. Kurenai-sensei says I'm more of a ninjutsuist, but after what happened with chasing that missing-in, the one related to Orochimaru, I didn't want a repeat and asked on how to dispel it. I managed to practice on the lake, but since Kurenai-sensei is still in the hospital I can't get actual practice on dispelling one" Naruto says.

Neji nods his head in understanding, and they remain quiet. Both of them are just in their own thoughts, one pondering the situation on hand, and the other thinking of the conversation just said.

About half an hour or so, Naruto began to feeling a stirring in his arms.

Looking down, Hinata was starting to wake up.

'I hope a repeat from the mission last time doesn't happen again' was Naruto's thoughts before blue eyes met lavender ones.

* * *

Tsunade had just signed the form, accepting the mission to be completed, and then called for her anbu.

"Tsunade-sama" the anbu said, one knee on the ground, bowing.

"Please ask Nara Shikamaru, Huyga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto to report for a mission" Tsunade ordered.

"Hai" the anbu answered and shushined away.

The mission she was going to send them on was the mission about transporting some items to a farm, then guarding the farm until its build and complete; A C-rank mission, about two weeks long on average, and low C-rank at that.

'I think this will get Naruto distracted for a while until Jiarya returns; I just hope we get some good news out of him' Tsunade thought, rubbing her temples. That tea was somewhat soothing, but nothing would probably relax her like some Saki.

* * *

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, and when she did she lost herself in a sea of blue eyes. She felt warm and comfortable. So comfortable that she was slowly closing her eyes again.

"Hey, Hinata, do you want me to take you the hospital?" that voice she loved so much, lulling her to sleep…..

That voice!

"Eeep" she opened her eyes, wide, and got up too quickly, causing her forehead to clash with Naruto's.

"Gah" Naruto removed his hands from her, and began to rub the spot on his forehead while Hinata scrabbled off of him. This was starting to become a routine for them; the meeting up, then her either scrabbling away, or fainting then scrambling off of him.

"S-s-sorry N-Naruto-k-kun, h-h-ow long was I-I asl-leep for?" Hinata asked, her face turning red as a tomato.

"More than half an hour Hinata-sama; you went towards the lake, then fainted" Neji said. Hinata looked at him, turning redder that they had an audience.

"Gomen. I heard something and was curious on what was happening" Hinata said.

Neji was just amused by the whole thing; Naruto certainly kept things entertaining.

"Nah that's okay. I thought you may be sick, but Shikamaru said you were probably too overheated by the sun today. Here" Naruto said, offering her bottled water.

"Arigato" Hinata says, glad that he didn't know that it wasn't the sun that caused her to overheat.

"Shall we continue Hinata-sama?" Neji asks. Just as he asked that, an anbu appeared in front of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Huyga Hinata?" the anbu asks.

"Hai!" both of them respond.

"Your presence is requested by the hokage. You are to report to her immediately" after that, the anbu shushins away.

"I wonder what Tsunade-baa-chan wants. I guess we should go" Naruto says, getting up.

"May I make a suggestion Naruto?" Neji says.

"Sure" Naruto responds, unsure of why Neji looks so amused.

"May I suggest you get dressed. I'm sure the Hokage doesn't expect you to be too hot to not wear clothe" Neji says, making a wave of his hand to the clothe Naruto had shed so it wouldn't get wet.

Naruto looked at himself to see he was still in his boxers, and then looked at Neji and Hinata; Neji just kept on smirking, and Hinata kept on getting redder, avoiding his eyes.

"Hehe, good idea" Naruto quickly scrambles to put on his clothe.

Afterwards, the two bid farewell to Neji, with Hinata saying she'd see him at the hospital.

While on the way to the hokage tower, not only was Hinata still avoiding looking at Naruto, but Naruto had started to do the same once he realized that he had been holding Hinata bare chest. He could feel himself heating up that had nothing to do with the sun.

* * *

"I win" Udon says, placing his cards down.

"How do you always win?" Konohamaru moans, placing his cards down.

"Honestly, I was so close to" says Mogei, placing her cards down.

"What do you have Hanabi-san" Udon says.

"Umm…" Hanabi lowers her hand; there all aces.

"What!" Konohamaru comes closer.

"No way!" Mogei says dumfounded.

"There's no way it's your first time playing" Udon says, eyes wide.

'Why, did I do something wrong?" Hanabi asks.

"Nope, you just beat Udon; he never loses" Konohamaru says, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, okay" Hanabi smiles.

"Okay? Did you even know what you drew?" Udon asks.

"Not really…" Hanabi starts to feel nervous.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll get over it; it looks like you're the lucky player" Konohamaru says, still grinning.

"I'm what?" Hanabi asks, sounding confused.

"Lucky player, meaning you're very lucky when it comes to gambling. Naruto tends to be referred like that by Konohamaru as well" Mogei explains.

"Oh, but were just playing for fun right?" Hanabi asks.

"Yes, but if you ever choose to gamble when your older, you shouldn't have a problem" Konohamaru says.

Hanabi was still confused, but since it was for when she was older, she just left it alone.

Everyone was quiet for a couple of minutes, unsure of what to do. Since it was so hot outside, and no one brought any of their swim stuff, they were stuck indoors.

"I think I'm going to head out Konohamaru-kun; I sort of promised my parents that I'd help them with the chores today since their both going to be going on a mission later on tonight" Udon says.

"But it's been only two hours since you got here" Konohamaru whined.

"I think I'm going to head out as well Konohamaru-chan; I have to help my parents with dinner today since some of our cousins are coming over. I just wanted to come for a bit since we haven't been getting much chances to hangout this week" Mogei says, getting up to join Udon.

"Fine, can't help if you guys have other plans. Thanks for coming, maybe next time we'll go swimming" Konohamaru says, walking them towards the door.

"Bye Hanabi-san" Udon says.

"Take care" Mogei says.

The two leave, and Konohamaru closes the door.

"Well, that's a shame, but then again it is hot and it's kind of boring in here" Konohamaru says, sitting next to Hanabi.

"Don't they have plans?" Hanabi asks, clearly confused.

Shaking his head, Konohamaru answers, "No they don't, they just felt bored and when it gets quiet it sometimes becomes awkward. I don't blame them, we were supposed to go hang out outside, but it's just too hot. I won't blame you if you want to leave Hanabi-chan."

"I can't leave until Nee-sama, and Neji-ni-san comes back. Besides, I don't want to leave yet" Hanabi says.

Konohamaru looks up, and smiles at that, "okay, so what do you want to do?"

"How about training?" Hanabi asks.

"Training, like what? If it's Taijutsu I'd rather do it outside, and not on a hot day as today" Konohamaru says.

"Then, what about ninjutsu? I only know my clans taijutsu, so I have none" Hanabi says.

"I can teach you; watch this, Naruto-ni-san taught me it" Konohamaru stood up, and brought his hands together.

'I wonder what he's going to show me' Hanabi thought, leaning forward with excitement.

"Sexy no Jutsu!" Konohamaru yells out.

'Sexy no Jutsu?' There was white smoke, and then a nude female brunette appeared. Hanabi looked horror-struck.

"What you think? Isn't this a cool skill to have" Konohamaru said in a girly, sexy voice, only to be punched, and fly towards the wall.

"What the hell was that?! Pervert, how you can show that in front of a girl it's disrespectful" Hanabi was panting with anger, shaking her fists. When the henge vanished and Konohamaru got up, he looked angry at first, then scared, and started to run away.

"Get back here!" Hanabi yelled out. The chase began, Konohamaru yelling apologies, and Hanabi saying that he hasn't _apologized _properly yet.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had just reached the front of the hokage tower when they saw Shikamaru coming towards them.

"Hey Shika, you got called to come to the tower as well?" Naruto asks.

"Yeah, troublesome, I had just returned back to the hospital when the anbu showed up. Any ideas what it's about?" Shikamaru asks, looking back and forth between the two; they seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"No Shikamaru-kun, just asked to meet the Hokage" Hinata said, looking down.

Shikamaru could tell something was up between the two, but he let it go; whatever it was, it was there problem.

They opened the door, and met with the hokage looking at a scroll in front of her.

"So what do you need Tsunade-baa-chan?" Naruto asks, getting hit with the scroll she was reading.

"I've told you not to call me that!" Tsunade hissed out, before calming herself down.

Rubbing his head, Naruto picked up the scroll that she had thrown at him, "What's this?"

"That is a transport and guard mission Naruto. Tomorrow at 9, you're to report at the gates where you'll pick up supplies from the guards. The mission should be two weeks max, and Shikamaru is the captain of the mission. You're only to transport and guard until the people have used the equipment you're transporting to the farm. Any questions?" Tsunade asks.

"If it's only a transport mission, then why is it C-rank?" Shikamaru asks.

"It's in case some bandits choose to raid the place while their busy. The man is friendly, so he'll answer any other questions you may have" Tsunade says.

"But, what if Ero-senin returns?" Naruto asks.

"I have taken that into account, by the time the mission is done, he should be back. Don't worry Naruto, I won't let him leave until you return" Tsunade says softly.

With no one else to ask Tsunade dismisses them.

'Hopefully this can help him get out any frustrations, and keep him busy enough not to annoy me about more missions referring to Sasuke' Tsunade thought.

* * *

And there it is.

The idea for the mission comes from an idea that a story called 'Better left unsaid'

Its not going to be the same as what was written there, but that's where I got the idea from.

I hope this was amusing in some ways, I am going to be starting school again next week, so I might be slow with the posting for next week.

Cheers


	23. Chapter 23

Hey everyone

Sorry, I just started school yesterday so I didn't get the chance to write and post this chapter.

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I plan on ending at chapter 30 this story. I do plan on writing a sequel, but I'm finding it hard to come up with a name, something similar to this story's name.

Anyways, enjoy

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 22

The next day was mercifully less hot. Naruto had surprisingly slept early, and woken up early. It was currently 7:30. He was a little bummed that he had to go on a mission just when Kurenai-sensei was scheduled to be released from the hospital today; he wanted more practice on disabling genjutsu.

After showering, eating breakfast, and getting dressed, he left at 8:15.

The mission today was supposed to be transporting supplies to a farm, and then guard the people who live there while they use the supplies to build fences. The only reason it was even a C-rank mission was because it was out of the village, and there were possibilities for bandits to rob the place.

"Man, I guess going on this mission won't be two bad. Hinata will be around to see if there are any possibilities of an attack, and Shikamaru is a genius, even if he's lazy. Then there's me. This mission should be a breeze" Naruto says out loud, getting himself pumped up.

Once he reaches the gates, he realizes that he's early, and even the supplies that they were supposed to take weren't at the gates yet. Figuring that he had time to kill, he goes up to the guards.

One of them is sleeping, or pretending to sleep, while the other is yelling at him to take the job seriously.

"I told you that nothing is going to happen today, like usual, so it's fine if I catch up on some sleep. Relax" Kotetsu says.

"That's no reason, and you don't know that; for all we know a hidden attack might be approaching, but since were so tired it'll let itself in" Izumo shouts at Kotetsu.

"Um guys, what's going on?" Naruto asks, slowly approaching them.

"Oh hey Naruto; were on duty today, but since it's still early, I just wanted to take a nap. Izumo here, though, won't let me" Kotetsu says.

"That's because were on duty! That means were supposed to keep watch of the gates on who enters and who leaves" Izumo yells at Kotetsu.

"Naruto, what did you do to have them arguing this early in the morning?" Shikamaru asks, yawning.

"Nothing, Kotetsu wants to be lazy and Izumo is not letting him" Naruto replies.

"Hey, that works for me, just lying down and taking a nap, while watching the clouds; nothing wrong with that" Shikamaru says, rolling his shoulders.

"See, Izumo, he gets it" Kotetsu says.

Sighing, Izumo turns to Shikamaru, "So why are you up early?"

"Were here to transport a cart full of supplies, it's for some farm; you have anything I'm talking about? Shikamaru asks.

"Right outside the gates, one of the guards brought it out since they figured it wouldn't take much space outside the gates than inside" Kotetsu explains.

"You lazy bum, you made me do it since you just wanted it to be left in front of the gates" Izumo whines.

Kotetsu just shrugs, and puts his head back down.

Naruto didn't know whether to feel bad for Izumo, or laugh hard on how the two are handling the situation.

Fortunately, Hinata came so he didn't have to do anything about the two.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, hope I'm not late" Hinata says.

"Nope, just in time Hinata; the cart is outside the gates. All right, let's get this mission done" Shikamaru says, walking towards the gate.

Hinata made to follow, but Naruto grabs her arm for a moment, startling her.

"Hey, Hinata, are you feeling better? You gave me quite a scare yesterday" Naruto asks, his eyes narrowing in concern.

Hinata was beginning to feel warm from his words, and hoped that she wasn't blushing, "I-I'm f-ine Naruto-kun."

Holding on for a moment longer, he lets her go, "well, if you say so. Just let me know if you need to rest though; I'll argue with Shikamaru if I have to."

Hinata now knew she couldn't hide the blush she sure felt was appearing on her face, and turned to follow Shikamaru before Naruto commented on it.

"So this is the cart?" Naruto asks.

"Yup, troublesome, it looks like all three of us are going to be pulling it with all that lumber in the back" Shikamaru says, giving up on how easy he thought the mission would be.

"Well come on, let's start" Naruto says, placing himself between the cart, and the wood that he would be pushing to pull the cart.

Hinata and Shikamaru join him shortly, and the three begin to pull, realizing just how heavy the cart is.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru mutters.

"Hey, the farm isn't too far. I'm sure we'll be there shortly" Naruto says.

So the three prepare themselves to push and pull what will take hours in order to deliver to the farm.

* * *

"Where is this farm?" Naruto groans out. It had been two hours so far and the three were still positioned in front of the large cart, hauling the hundreds of pounds of lumber. They were pulling the materials down the path towards where they were going. All three grunted in exertion.

"Does it matter; it's still going to take a long time to get there. Man, let's take a break" Shikamaru complains.

"No, if we stop, then it will take longer" Naruto exclaims at Shikamaru, then pauses, and looks at Hinata, "unless, you feel tired Hinata?"

"No, I'm fine Naruto-kun" Hinata says, keeping forward so her blush doesn't show.

"Troublesome, fine" Shikamaru says, giving in.

Naruto chuckles at this, "come on Shika, it's just walking. We're just dragging along the way, that's it."

Shikamaru rolls his eyes at this, "I'm not as strong as you Naruto; this feels about at least 400 or so pounds."

"Hinata's not complaining Shika" Naruto says, moving his head to the side where Hinata was.

"Hinata never complains Naruto, especially to you" Shikamaru mutters, but Naruto catches it.

"Really? Hinata, your more than welcome to complain to me; you know I won't judge you if you're feeling tired" Naruto says, turning his head to her.

"R-r-really Naruto-kun, I'm fine" Hinata stutters from the attention she's getting from him.

They become quiet after that, and while Hinata is looking forward, she doesn't notice Naruto glancing at her. He didn't know why, he just felt….protective. It seemed to him that Hinata has frequent fainting spells, and yesterday it actually really scared him when he just saw her lying motionless on the ground. It was like his heart stopped for a second, before springing into action and beating franticly. He also didn't know, but when he held her close yesterday, he felt that he could protect her. Naruto knew how strong Hinata was, and knew she didn't need anyone protecting her, but Naruto felt that he _wanted _to, and he didn't get why.

After a few more minutes of mulling it over, he sighs and breaks the silence, "Seriously Shikamaru, where is this farm?"

* * *

It's been a few days, and Jirayia still hasn't heard word from his spy. He's been doing the usual to pass time; sightseeing, doing some 'research' for new material for his next story, going to bars and houses full of beautiful ladies on the off chance of getting info, and sleeping off the hangovers.

It was going to be another night of the same thing, when the toad he sent a few days ago, popped next to his bed.

"Master Jirayia, I have received the information from your spies. I hope this will prove useful" after the toad gives him a small scroll, he bows and poofs.

Jirayia opens the scroll, scans it, and sighs. He rolls it back, and decides that this will be his last night in the cloud village before heading back to the leaf.

'This should give Tsunade something to mull over; I'm not even sure what to make of it' Jiraya thinks, making his way to the bar.

* * *

It has been getting closer to late afternoon, and the trio hadn't stopped for a break. No one had spoken for hours, except for Naruto's constant 'where is this farm?'

"I think we should take a break Shikamaru; if you won't answer where this farm is, then I am going to assume it's quite far" Naruto says, looking at Hinata while saying this.

"I would have agreed with you if you had suggested that hours ago, but not now, keep going" Shikamaru answers.

After another hour of tugging the cart, and Naruto can't take it anymore, "Where is this farm damn it?" He's practically growls out.

Sighing, Shikamaru finally gives in, "It's close, just keep going. If you look hard enough you can see it through the trees. It's more of a ranch than a farm Naruto."

"I can't see anything Shika, just trees. These woods are pretty thick" Naruto says.

Hinata had to agree with Naruto, and activates her eyes to see if she can spot it.

"I see it Naruto-kun; it's not too far now" Hinata says.

Naruto sighs in relief as Shikamaru speaks, "Which now brings us to part two of the mission, the part that I like; after we deliver the lumber we've been hired to transport, we're to stay back and protect the livestock and other animals until they can build the fence or whatever they wish to build with the lumber we brought. That should take between a few days to two weeks. It's all based on how fast these people chose to build them."

And just as Hinata had said, it didn't take much longer for them to finish making their way through the forest to find themselves in an area, rather large area, with a pretty good sized house near a farmhouse. Near the farmhouse were tons of animals; chickens, cattle, ducks, sheep, and pigs.

The team finished pulling the cart up to the front of the farmhouse as a slim looking red-haired man in a white shirt and black pants walks outside, coming to greet the team.

Shikamaru just stops pulling the cart and goes to greet the man. Naruto falls on his back, muttering 'finally.' Hinata giggles before she can stop herself, and Naruto looks at her, smiling.

The man just chuckles at them as he shakes Shikamaru's hand, "Well, you ninja sure work fast. I was expecting you all at least tomorrow or midnight."

"We would've have taken longer, but these two here refused to take any breaks. There was no reason to go slower if we can actually keep a faster pace; besides, it thankfully wasn't that far out from Konoha" Shikamaru explains.

"I suppose that's true. I and my siblings are the only ones here, so we'll be building the fences tomorrow. How about you three come in to eat with us and perhaps freshen up if you want to?" The man asks.

"Food? I'm down for that, right Shikamaru?" Naruto asks, with eager eyes.

"First, let's put the cart with lumbar in the farmhouse so it stays safe, then we'll accept the offer. My name is Nara Shikamaru, and my two companions here are Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuga Hinata" Shikamaru introduces them.

"My name is Mono Koji. My brother is Kohaku Koji and Sister Sango Koji. I'm the eldest, then Sango, then Kohaku" The man called Mono says.

The three of them bring the cart with lumber to the farmhouse, then enter Mono's house. Instantly they can smell the food being cooked, and see a young teen prepping the table. He looked pretty young, his hair was black instead of red, and was wearing a black sweater and blue pants.

"Mono, is that them? I thought they were going to be here tomorrow?" Kohaku says.

"They surprised me to. They managed to get here without breaks, so I invited them for dinner; we'll begin the fences tomorrow" Mono says.

"Sounds good to me; hello everyone, my name is Kohaku. Thank you for taking the trouble to bring our supplies" Kohaku introduces himself, bowing down.

"Hello Kohaku, my name is Shikamaru, and this is Naruto and Hinata" Shikamaru says, introducing them once again.

Kohaku looks up, and his eyes widen slightly, and then turn to head for the kitchen, but not fast enough for Naruto to notice that Kohaku had turned a little shade of red.

'What was all that about?' Naruto wonders, as the food begin to be placed on the table; it consisted of chicken curry, miso soup, and steamed white rice.

"Itadakimasu" Everyone says, and digs into their food. Mostly Mono makes light conversation, with Sango talking every now and then. She looked more like her younger brother than the elder one with black hair.

Shikamaru did most of the talking, with Hinata answering whenever asked. Naruto wasn't usually quiet, but he had his focus on something; the Kohaku guy was staring at Hinata, and he didn't like it.

After the meal, Mono allowed them to take a bath while the siblings cleaned up afterwards.

* * *

During the soak in the water, Naruto begins to talk to Shikamaru, "Hey Shika, did you notice anything weird during dinner today?"

"Not really, but they do seem too jolly for my liking" Shikamaru responds lazily.

"Well, during dinner today, that Kohaku guy kept staring at Hinata. I thought maybe there was something on her face or something, but she eats with manners so there was nothing" Naruto explains.

Shikamaru looks at Naruto for a bit, wondering about something, then goes back to his position before, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's nothing, maybe he's never seen someone with eyes like that before. Even if it is a big deal, Hinata can take care of herself."

Frustrated, Naruto just sinks into the water; it didn't seem like nothing to him.

* * *

After the three finished their soak, and were given a room to sleep in, Shikamaru made the schedule for guarding the supplies for the night. Naruto would be first, then Shikamaru, then Hinata.

As Naruto starts his shift, he can't help but wonder what he felt, or why it bothered him the way Kohaku looked at Hinata. He didn't want him looking at her, or anyone else for that matter like that; just staring at her as if she was some shiny object.

'I'll keep an eye out in case he tries to do something' Naruto thinks. The rest of his shift is boring, and when he switches with Shikamaru, and lies down, he takes a good look at Hinata.

She seems so relaxed in her sleep, and with the way the moon was lighting her up, she looked beautiful to him, just like an angel.

'Whoa' Naruto snaps out of his thoughts, turning red with what he thought just a moment ago. He always knew Hinata was pretty, and after figuring out she was the beautiful lady that danced on the water during team 8's mission, he already knew she was beautiful. This was the first time he admitted to himself that Hinata was beautiful to him, and that just got him blushing.

Turning around, he closed his eyes in hopes of sleeping, but it would be hours later, before Hinata's shift, before he sleeps that night.

* * *

There we go

So I'm sure you all know that I'm slowly building it to when Naruto realizes that he likes Hinata more than Just as a friend, but is not quite there yet.

Hey, that might be a good name; Not quite there yet, for my Sequel, what you guys think.

Please let me know

Cheers


	24. Chapter 24

Hi guys

Well, this is a bit longer than my usual chapters, but I'm trying to make it work.

There is drama but no fighting in this story, athough expect some next week.

Enjoy

I don't own Nartuo

* * *

Chapter 23

The next day everyone begins to get everything started. Mono, Kohaku, and Sango prepare breakfast, while Shikamaru explains to Naruto and Hinata what their job was for the second half of the mission.

"Now that your supplies are here and still intact, the second half of our mission is to guard you three while you're working on making fences for the animals. I and my comrades will be split into three shifts. I'll go first, then Naruto, and then Hinata. Just let us know if there's anything else you wish to tell us" Shikamaru explains

"That sounds like a good plan to us. Once we eat, and clean up after breakfast, we will begin" Mono replies.

"How long you think it will take to complete the fence?" Naruto asks Mono.

"Well, I did schedule for two weeks, but that's just in case. It really shouldn't take more than a few days to a week if nothing interesting happens" Mono answers.

"Well, we'll deal with that afterwards. For now, dig in everyone" Sango says. She and Kohaku have finished setting up the table.

Everyone is quiet after that, enjoying their meal before preparing for the day.

* * *

"Kohaku, Sango, you guys done yet?" Mono calls out from outside.

Kohaku runs out, "Sango is just finishing the dishes off. I can start right now if you want?"

"Aright, shall we begin guys?" Mono asks the Konoha ninjas.

"Hey, Shika, can I go first" Naruto asks.

"Whatever doesn't matter to me, just wake me up when it's my turn" Shikamaru says, walking to a spot where he can nap.

"….Is he allowed to do that?" Kohaku asks.

"He's the captain of this mission; he can do what he wants" Naruto answers, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll be meditating near Shikamaru-kun, so I'll let him know when it's his turn Naruto-kun" Hinata says to Naruto.

"Smart idea Hinata; he might just keep on sleeping if we don't keep an eye on him" Naruto says, smiling at Hinata.

Hinata turns a bit red at the compliment, but smiles back before walking to Shikamaru's location.

Naruto turns to look at Kohaku, only to see him wearing a look of disappointment on his face; he was looking at Hinata's direction.

"Something wrong Kohaku-san?" Naruto asks, with a bit of an edge to his voice. He couldn't explain why, but Kohaku just seems to rub him in the wrong way, even if the guy was nice.

This startles Kohaku, and looks a bit embarrassed at being caught staring, "no, nothing! Over here, let's go."

Kohaku quickly runs to were the cattle is, with Naruto following after him.

* * *

Naruto had chased the cattle into the field, letting his shadow clones keep an eye on them, while he watched and conversed with Sango and Kohaku.

"Say, how come you don't help us out to make building this fence faster Naruto-kun?" Kohaku asks.

"It's because we didn't pay him to help us out Kohaku. Plus, his clones are keeping an eye on the cattle so he's doing a great job at protecting us" Sango answers him.

"If I were to help you, then this would probably be considered a low B-rank mission. Plus, you would need to pay us more. Cheer up, there's nothing wrong with hard labour; it's one of the ways to build good discipline" Naruto says, trying not to smile at Kohaku's crestfallen face.

Kohaku, from Naruto's point of view, did actually have good discipline, but seems to dislike working long periods of time. Sango, on the other hand, looked like she wasn't a complainer.

While Naruto watches, the sounds of stakes being hammered into the ground ring out. Sango would dig holes for the pole and Kohaku would set them and hammer them in. Mono would place the fence portions in while they kept working.

While the three were working, Kohaku starts asking Mono questions that surprise Naruto, "Why did you decide to do this with your life Ni-san? You know aunt and uncle would have kept supporting us since they care a great deal about us."

Mono frowns before answering, "Because I want to make my own way in the world, not ride along my family's money. I'm really glad you two chose to come and live with me, but tell me this; how could I mooch when they did so much for us after our parents died? I truly wish to pay them back for everything they've done for us. And the first way to do this is by making our own money."

"But they wouldn't have said no to help us since they never had kids of their own. You know how sad they felt for not being able to have kids" Kohaku says.

"He's doing it for himself", Naruto says to Kohaku, surprising them that he had been listening, "He's trying to prove that he's his own person and that people can rely on him. Since the two of you chose to follow him, it means despite everything you trust him."

Kohaku looks like he's mulling it over for a minute, before nodding, and giving Naruto a smile that made Naruto feel bad for wondering why Kohaku rubbed him the wrong way.

Before Naruto could say anything, Shikamaru came and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, your shift is over. I'm taking the late afternoon shift. Let Hinata come by once it's early evening."

Nodding, Naruto dispels his Shadow clones, "Have fun looking out for the cattle and other animals, but especially the cattle. You saw them all the way from where you were napping." After saying this, he runs to where Hinata was, surprised she was still meditating.

"Hey, Hinata, you're not yet?" Naruto asks, poking her on the shoulder.

Hinata jumps from being startled, and immediately uses a gentle fist on the one who touched her.

"Ahh" Naruto exclaims, flying a few feet away from the hit.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asks her eyes wide by what she just did.

"Not a good idea to startle you, I forget how painful it is to be hit by those" Naruto groans, standing back up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"S-sorry, y-you just surprised me that's all" Hinata stutters out, poking her two fingers together.

Naruto just waves it off, and walks back to her.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, before Hinata breaks it, "so, how was first shift?"

"It wasn't much of anything; my shadow clones kept an eye on the animals, so I watched them work and talked with them for a bit. Say, have you noticed the way Kohaku just keeps on staring at you?" Naruto asks.

Surprise was on her face, as she shakes her head, and turns towards where Kohaku was working; she caught his eye for a second, before he quickly went back to his work.

Naruto notices this, and scowls, wincing at the soreness from his shoulder; what was the guy's problem?

"Naruto-kun, is there something wrong?" Hinata asks, bringing his attention back to her.

"No, I just don't get why he's staring so much. I mean, sure not many people have your kind of eyes, but that's not an excuse to stare. Besides, your eyes are pretty, not freaky" Naruto says, sounding annoyed.

Hinata blushes at the complement, but since Naruto was looking at Kohaku at the moment, he doesn't notice.

"I-I think he's n-nice, and is just curious at why my eyes are different. If he wasn't so shy, I'm sure he would have asked about them by now" Hinata says, still a little red.

Naruto ponders on that for a moment, and guesses that she's right; he's heard how rude people can be, and Naruto did think he was nice.

"I guess you're right, just let me know if it starts to bother you, I know It would be bother if someone kept on staring at me and not tell me why" Naruto says.

Hinata nods, and for the remainder of the afternoon until it's her turn, they just stare in silence, until Naruto doses off to recover from Hinata's attack.

* * *

"Hey, Naruto, come on wake up, it's time to go inside" Shikamaru says, nudging him in the ribs.

Naruto groans, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "how long was I asleep for?"

"Since Hinata started her shift. We're calling it a night, and Mono and Sango just went in to begin dinner" Shikamaru explains.

A frown appears on Naruto's face, "I didn't realize that I was that tired. Where's Hinata?"

Shikamaru points to where she is, and Naruto can see Kohaku still working on the fence, while talking with Hinata; Kohaku seems comfortable now without the shyness from earlier.

"Why is Kohaku still working if Mono-san called it for the night?" Naruto asks, his frown becoming a scowl.

Shikamaru seemed surprised by how Naruto was acting, but answered none the less, "The fences for the cattle are almost done, so Kohaku wanted to get it done today. Tomorrow, it will be the pigs turn."

Naruto stares for a few seconds longer, then gets up and heads towards Kohaku and Hinata's direction.

As Narutp gets closer, he can hear some of the conversation going on, "…..and if it weren't for my aunt and uncle, the three of us might have starved or something since we never really knew how to work for ourselves. I get what my Ni-san wants to do after Naruto explained it to me, but I think there might be another way besides raising animals to make money" Kohaku says.

"I understand Kohaku-kun, but perhaps right now this is the only way, and later on you can find ways to make money" Hinata answers.

"Like what? I'm really interested in your thoughts Hinata-Chan" Kohaku says, smiling before placing the pole into the hole he dug up.

Hinata starts to turn a shade of pink, and it's at this point Naruto intervenes, "hey you two; I see the fence is almost done."

The two get startled by his presence, and this makes Hinata turn a shade darker, "N-Naruto-kun, your awake."

"Yeah, sorry for being bad company; I don't know I guess after your attack it caused me to get a little tired" Naruto says, rubbing his head in embarrassment.

"N-no, it w-was my fault for h-hitting you" Hinata stutters out.

"You hit Naruto-kun? What did he do?" Kohaku asks, looking a bit surprised.

"I just surprised her while she was meditating, and she reacted before realizing it was just me. Its fine now, no longer sore" Naruto answers, rolling the shoulder that had been hit.

"I figure since I had taken a nap, you can go in and rest Hinata while I watch over Kohaku-san until he's finished" Naruto says to Hinata.

"You don't have to do that Naruto-kun" Hinata says, still a little pink.

"Its fine, besides Sango liked how you helped her out this morning; you never know, she might ask again" Naruto says back.

"That's why it tasted somewhat different this morning. Nee-san's cooking is good, but it tasted more flavour than usual. It was a nice change from the usual expectation of a meal" Kohaku says, smiling at Hinata.

Naruto was getting annoyed, but Hinata just nods to Kohaku, and begins to make her way towards the house.

For a few minutes neither of them talks, until Naruto's curiosity gets the better of him, "What did you two talk about while she was guarding you?"

"Oh, well first she asked why I was staring a lot at her; I didn't even know I was doing it so much you know? I apologized if it had made her uncomfortable, and she said it didn't really, but she was just curious" Kohaku explains.

"So what did you say to her?" Naruto asks.

Kohaku just places the final wood to finish the fence, and then wipes his forehead with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket, "well, I said it was because I've never seen some like her before. She looks different, you know? But, I didn't really tell her my real reasons."

"Well, what's your real reason?" Naruto asks, narrowing his eyes a bit.

Kohaku looks at the house for a moment, then looks at Naruto, "Naruto-kun, can you keep a secret, at least not tell her if I was to tell you? I want to build up the courage to tell her myself."

Naruto doesn't say anything, but nods and leans a bit closer.

"It's because she's really pretty. Her eyes are different, but they are really pretty and gentle. Then there's the fact that she's really kind and considerate; it's hard to find people like that. Does she have a boyfriend at all?" Kohaku asks, looking a little red and staring at the house.

That surprised Naruto; he hadn't expected that to be his reason for staring at her so much, but that didn't really make him any more likable than before to Naruto; it actually made him dislike Kohaku even more.

"No, she doesn't" Naruto says, gritting his teeth from saying more; it wasn't like Hinata needed protection from Kohaku.

Kohaku thinks for a moment, and then continues talking with Naruto, "How long have you known her for Naruto-kun?"

That throws Naruto off, starts thinking before answering, "Well, I first met her when we were four, then again when we were six. We were in the academy together, but we never talked with each other; I just know she never made fun of me or laughed at me and put me down. She was kind even from then. My first impression of her though was a dark, timid girl, and a bit weird. But, I actually like people like that."

"So when did you guys really start to talk with each other?" Kohaku asks.

Naruto didn't know why he was talking about Hinata, but it was as if something was slowly unwrapping in his mind while he answered Kohaku's questions, "I would have to say during our first time at the chunin exams. Even though we weren't on the same team, and we never really talked with each other, she still wanted to help me. After the pre-eliminations, even though I had defeated her teammate, she still gave me a healing salve for my injuries. She always tries to improve herself, never gives up, and she seems to never give up on me, even when I sometimes crumble on stress."

"Stress?" Kohaku asks.

"Well, I was going to be facing her cousin, who is a genius and really strong, and everyone was talking about watching him in the fight. It was getting to me, so I went to where I first became a genin, and there she was. I asked her about him, and she fully believed that I could beat him, even after I had explained my insecurities. She brought me out of my depressed thoughts, and I remembered that I had sworn to defeat her cousin for her, because no family should do that to their family. He had badly injured her during their pre-elimination, and it took her awhile to recover" Naruto explains.

"She really sounds like a really good and kind person then" Kohaku says, but looking a little sadder from the explanation.

"She really is, the kindest in my age group, and she's always there for you" that explanation brings him to the realization of the truth; Hinata was always there for him, watching him. She was the only one who believed in him when he went to face Neji, and has been trying to help him whenever he asked.

"Kohaku-kun, Naruto-kun; dinners ready" Hinata's voice startles him out of his thoughts.

"Were coming Hinata-chan" Kohaku says, heading in to wash up.

Hinata watches him go before turning her attention back to Naruto, and blushes when she sees him looking at her.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asks, turning a little red from his look.

Naruto just shakes his head, and smiles, "Yeah sorry about that, was just thinking about something. Let's go, I'm starving."

The two walk together in silence, but while Hinata is looking forward, Naruto has his head slightly turned to look at her, and wonders why he didn't realise his discovery earlier.

* * *

And there it is. Can you guess what the discovery is

Anyways, next week there will be some fighting, not sure what it will be yet but there will be some.

Cheers


End file.
